Red Ravager
by SwiftlyTiltingPlanet
Summary: Many strange events have occurred in Tokyo the past few months. The attack on U.A, the rise of the League of Villains and the appearance of a strange new villain have only added to the mess. Izuku has had a pretty chaotic start to his school year dealing with all this and his new quirk, but add to that a series of bizarre crimes and an elusive street rat, you get one thing: chaos.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, this is my first fic so it might be a bit rough, but I've done my best to keep the characters as in character as possible and the story interesting. I got this idea from Luffy's famous speech in Fishman Island on what it means to be a hero. My roommate just introduced me to the My Hero Academia anime and my brain made an instant connection between the two. I am fully caught up on the One Piece manga and am currently catching up in the BNHA manga as well, so there my be allusions to spoilers for anime only readers in later chapters. I hope to make this readable for any one unfamiliar with either story so a fan of either OP or BNMH may read without confusion. It is so far unfinished and I am open to suggestions and feedback. I hope to update fairly regularly and it is my hope that you enjoy it. **

**It goes without saying that I own neither One Piece nor My Hero Academia and all credit goes to their respective authors. **

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Chapter One: The Street Rat

The young man sat beneath the bridge, the grass and concrete were somewhat damp but that was to be expected as the river lay just ten feet away. The storm the previous day had caused the stream to rise up and flood the surrounding area and it hadn't fully dried out yet. That had been very inconvenient as he had had to temporarily relocate all his things before they were completely drenched. They had been mostly ruined anyway by the rain itself and he had to toss most of them after all. The only good thing to come out of it was that the woman running the nearby coffee shop had felt bad seeing him sitting out in the storm alone with his blanket the only thing keeping him warm. She had been so nice and let him inside and fed him warm treats and told him all about how she was going to hopefully win the prize for best pastry at the baking competition that year. He was pretty sure she could do it, they were plenty delicious. He wondered how he could pay her back for the meal. He would keep an eye out and if anyone messed with her he was sure to beat the crap out of them.

"Damn," he muttered as his stomach grumbled loudly. He really wished that he had time to stop for breakfast that morning, now all he had was the bag of chips he was munching on. He had snuck that off of the table of a restaurant when the patron got up to use the restroom, he would have taken a few bites of the sandwich as well if the waitress hadn't chased him out. He chewed grumpily as he considered checking the dumpsters behind the restaurants for leftovers again. The people here were so wasteful, he once found an entire bag of perfectly good fries just waiting to be eaten. It wasn't as good as if it were fresh but it was tasty enough. Honestly it reminded him of when he was a little kid again, fighting for scraps to survive and feeling hunger that made him desperate enough to eat worms and other bugs off of the ground. It didn't bother him how unsanitary or gross the food was, it was either that or starvation and to him the answer was obvious.

His leg bounced as he sat there, impatiently waiting for the damn video he had stolen the tablet for to load. It was freezing a lot out here and it was only making him frustrated. If it didn't load in the next few seconds, he would chuck the useless hunk of metal into the creek and go in search of lunch. Just as he was about to follow through with that the video finished buffering and once more the stream jumped ahead to catch up with the current events. He felt relief and disappointment simultaneously. He had been hoping to see the end of that round but now a new fight was beginning and his frustration melted as it grabbed his attention. The girl on the screen began charging at the boy who stood there patiently bracing himself to counterattack. The boy made his move and a burst of flames and concussive force hit the girl sending her flying back. The young man nearly dropped the tablet as his heart skipped a beat and his muscles tensed. Was that fire? He shook his head, he had had the exact same reaction when he had seen that hero Endeavor. He had to remind himself that quirks were unique and it wasn't what he was thinking of. Nonetheless his mind flashed to two years ago and he took a deep breath trying to calm himself. Finally he turned his attention back to the fight.

"So he has fire…" he watched for a few more seconds before coming to a different conclusion, "No, more like explosions, I wonder what she can do?" The girl was fast and was decently able to dodge his attacks but it looked like she was trying to slap him more than anything. That was strange, he could tell she had a good head on her though as she seemed to be using her environment to her advantage. The boy in the fight continued his barrage of attacks and would hit her every so often which sent her flying. After a few moments the young man began to notice a pattern to the girl's movements, something weird was happening but he couldn't quite figure out what though.

"_Looks like she's not resting between attacks despite being exploded!...The poor girl…" _The announcer said. The young man watching just smiled, he liked that. She might not look it but she was a fighter and had just as much spirit as the boy in the ring, if not more. Despite how badly she seemed to be losing, he couldn't help but find himself rooting for her. He put another handful of chips in his mouth as he hunched nearer to the tablet to watch the fight more closely. There was another blast, and another. Debris went flying, temporarily blotting out the view of the cameras. The dust cleared somewhat and he could see that the girl was charging once more.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed pumping a fist in the air enthusiastically, "You can do it! Don't give up!" he cheered even though he knew that the girl wouldn't be able to hear him. There was another blast and she was knocked back yet again.

"_This is shameful," _a voice cried offscreen, "_Hey listen kid, if you really want to be a hero then stop being a bully!" _The camera panned over to show a man in hero's garb with a headband and yellow cape shouting from the stands, "_If you're so good then just send her out now!" _The boy frowned at these words. A bully? This was a fight, there was no playing dirty or being a bully. You either fought to win or you lost. He may want the girl to win, but the boy was doing nothing wrong in this fight and he was doing an excellent job. Another explosion rattled the arena as the two fighters ignored the stupid man. "_Stop toying with the girl and finish the match!"_

"_Yeah! You heard him!" _A woman called standing up as well. A bunch of jeers and shouts joined in as the crowd began to collectively boo the boy in the arena. The young man watching just stuck out his tongue at them, they were all idiots. None of them understood what a duel was supposed to be.

"_The crowd is now booing Bakugo!" _The announcer cried, "_And honestly I kind of agree with them-ooough!" _

"_There is the man that started this uproar," _a new voice cut in, replacing the previous announcer over the loudspeakers, "_Are you a pro, because if you're being serious you can go home and hang up your cape. I'd suggest looking into another career." _There was silence as the man's words rang out over the stadium, even the fight in the arena was put on pause for a few moments as the two dueling stopped to listen to his words. The young man covered his mouth as he snickered, finally someone shut them up. He was talking some real smack as well, he appreciated that.

"_Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength, he knows she deserves to have made it this far, so he's making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top," _he said. Finally, someone got it. There was a brief silence and the camera refocused on the fight. The two were breathing heavily and he smiled at the look of absolute determination on the young girl's face. No matter the outcome of this fight, she deserved praise for her perseverance and her dedication to winning. It still wasn't clear what her quirk was and he anticipated finding out. He hoped it was something really cool, maybe it was a beam! But wait, no. If she could use beams then she would've used them already...but maybe she was keeping it a secret to catch him off guard! He grinned wildly as he watched to see how the fight would play out.

"_I think it's about time," _she said and the young man caught his breath, was this it!? Was this the beam!? "_Thank you Bakugo, for keeping your eyes focused on me!" _ the boy named Bakugo blinked in confusion and so did the young man but then the camera suddenly panned up to reveal a sky full of floating rocks. He gasped as he realized that it had been the weird thing he had noticed before. Some of the debris from the explosions had been weirdly floating upward the entire time. At first he had just thought it was some weird illusion or trick of the camera but now he realized it had been what she had been planning the entire time. The feed cut back to the girl as she put her hands together and suddenly the rocks began crashing down on the arena around them.

"_A meteor shower!" _The announcer cried in disbelief.

"Yeah!" The man shouted as he jumped up pumping his fist in the air. The young girl was charging toward Bakugo and he was waiting for her to kick his ass. Bakugo took a stance and just as the girl was about to get him, released an explosion upward that blew away both her and the raining debris. "No!" he cried in dismay as he quickly realized that Bakugo was probably about to win.

"_I figured you'd have some stupid plan to beat me, you are friends with that damn nerd after all," _Bakugo said, his voice sounding unimpressed. The girl was still on the ground and her eyes were wide as though she were unable to comprehend that he could have so easily undone all her hard work in just one move.

"_Bakugo makes a huge demonstration of power! He blasted up Ururaka's finishing move and remains untouched!" _The announcer shouted over the speakers and Ururaka hung her head in defeat.

"C'mon get up! Don't just let him win!" As if she had heard him, Ururaka shakily climbed to her feet, a new look of resolve crossing her face, "Yes, yes you can do it!" he cried as she turned to charge him one last time but it was clear her body couldn't handle it any longer. Her knees buckled out from under her and her eyes rolled back as she fell to the ground.

"_Ururaka is down!" _The announcer shouted and the man fell to his knees and punched the dirt beneath him.

"Dammit!" he cursed under his breath as he watched her struggle for a few more seconds before going still. A referee came over and signaled for the fight to end. The crowd cheered. "Two faced bastards," he muttered, just moments ago they had been booing him out of the ring, only now after his victory were they cheering Bakugo on. He sighed and folded his arms, he had really wanted her to win dammit! Just then the screen froze once more, he grabbed the tablet and shook it in the air furiously as if that would somehow get it to load. This was the most interesting thing he had seen in days and it was cutting in and out almost every five minutes. It was frozen longer than it played. He felt the urge to smash it into the ground but he stopped himself knowing he would regret doing that.

"Stupid transponder-screen thingy," he muttered, setting the tablet down on the ground and sprawling out to stare up at the bottom of the bridge. He was going to go mad with boredom. This place was so… well he would say dull but there were dozens of people walking around with strange abilities called quirks, so he couldn't quite say dull was a fitting word. There were those with weird body features like gills or antlers or tails while others could walk on walls or turn the color blue whenever they so desired. Not only that, there were heroes, actual heroes that ran about the city fighting crime and saving people. Normally that would be enough to keep anyone entertained. He was different.

Despite the mayhem you would expect quirks to cause, this society was still oddly stifling and orderly. People ignored their quirks, woke up at seven every morning, got on a bus or train and worked in a cubicle until it was dark and it was time to head home. There was so much more they could get out of life, there was so much adventure to be had but only a few actually decided to use their quirks and they were either quickly caught and put in jail or they were the ones putting them in jail. He was too chaotic a man to fall into this pattern, too restless sit still in one place for so long. That was what had him living under a bridge at the moment. He steadfastly refused to stay here and work in one of those cubicles. He was going to make something of his life, and he certainly wasn't going to be a hero, he was much too selfish for that. What was his was his, he wasn't one for sharing or risking it all to save someone he hardly knew.

Actually, he was feeling a bit worn out. It had been a busy day which was good because he was going mad with boredom. Nothing said exciting like a little bit of theft in the morning. When he'd first stumbled into this city he had been much more casual with his thievery. To be honest, he hadn't really considered the repercussions of getting arrested. Normally he wouldn't mind having the cops hot on his trail but given his current circumstances he had come to the conclusion that maybe jail wasn't where he wanted to be. After that he had spent the next several weeks perfecting the subtle art of shoplifting and pick-pocketing. This current prize, this wonder of technology that to be honest he was still trying to figure out, had been his most daring theft yet. He had nearly been caught and he'd spent all morning running around town. Luckily enough he wasn't doing anything bad enough to attract the attention of a hero because that would not have ended well. Apparently using his abilities was strictly not allowed and while that only made him want to use them more, he figured that he would be breaking the promise he had made to his friends and that was something he would die before doing. It had been the most exciting thing he'd done in a while though and his whole body was itching to finally raise a little hell.

He was also a bit annoyed with himself as the whole thing had been done on a whim anyway. He had been wandering around the stores and looking for something to eat for breakfast when he saw that computer store. He had been messing around with those things at the public library and his curiosity led him to wandering inside. It was then that he saw that they were all streaming a video from some sort of hero competition. It was the first thing in a while that actually caught his attention. Without thinking, he'd grabbed one of the damn things and took off down the street. Next thing he knew there were sirens blaring and people shouting. Luckily it had been such a random and sudden theft that no one had been prepared enough to give chase and no one had really seen him. The cops had followed his general direction for a while but he had pretty much lost them.

Now he was just hungry and tired with nothing but a slow functioning tablet to show for it. Though he had to admit it was pretty cool, they didn't have anything like this where he was from. Just wait until he showed...but he couldn't. He sighed. What was he supposed to do? He closed his eyes, his mild malaise turning into full on exhaustion. He wasn't even sure where to begin, he had tried asking around but most people just gave him a sad look and tossed him a couple yen. That was great and all but not really what he wanted. If only...

"Hey kid!" a rough voice called. He opened his eyes and blinked slowly, had he fallen asleep? The light coming from beyond the bridge was much dimmer and redder indicating that it was now late in the evening. The streamed tournament he had been watching had ended hours ago and was now playing back on repeat for people who might have missed it and he could hear the sounds of shouting and cheering playing over the speakers. He lifted his head slightly to see three thugs standing before him. Well this was an unwelcome development.

"Hey what?" he asked, they seemed a bit unfriendly. He hoped they would go away.

"Give us all your cash and that tablet and we'll let you live got it?" he answered and the young man sat up, folding his arms in indignation.

"You can't tell me what to do," he said somewhat annoyed, who did these guys think they were coming in here all uppity and demanding that he give them his things. How unreasonable. Normally he would just tell them that he didn't have any money and go back to ignoring them. This time however, they had the gall to demand that he give up the tablet he had rightfully stolen. These guys would either have to take it from him (which wasn't going to happen) or ask more politely. Honestly, would it kill them to have a nicer attitude? This sort of thing happened at least once every couple of days and the boy was growing sick of it.

"You hear that, he's back talking you," a thin spindly man with deer antlers said, his voice reedy. The heavy weight man in the middle sneered and raised his hand, a weird mud like substance oozing from it.

"I don't like kids, especially ones who don't know when to shut up," he threatened, holding out his muddy hand as though that somehow made him more intimidating. The young man just looked at him unimpressed.

"Good, cause I don't like you either," he pointed out rather bluntly and the man snarled.

"Should we just kill him?" The man on the left said, he sort of looked like he was melting and his skin was all gross and malleable like it was made of putty. "Show him what happens when your lungs get filled with glue?" the man with the muddy substance that was glue apparently, nodded slightly and the putty man laughed. The boy sighed, this was getting boring. If these assholes insisted on taking up this space he would just leave. The tablet was still replaying the tournament stream from the U.A High School and he was really curious to see who would fight next and what their powers would be. Without saying another word he picked up the tablet, got to his feet and walked the other way.

"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going!?" the reedy antler man shouted and he just shrugged rather indifferently.

"That way," he said casually pulling up the tablet so that he could see what was happening as he walked. Hmm that was interesting. There was one guy who was using an ice quirk, he scratched at his chest absentmindedly as he was once again reminded of what had happened two years ago. He was fighting a smallish kid whose fingers looked bruised and broken. That must really hurt, he himself hadn't broken a bone since he was six but he remembered that the experience was not pleasant. The young man ducked his head casually to the side as a glob of glue whizzed past his ear. These guys were really easy to predict. He dodged his head to the right as another glob flew by. This happened several more times as he watched the fight on his tablet and there was a shout of annoyance from the men behind him.

"Will one of you hold him down!" the glue man shouted and he heard footsteps as they ran toward him. He didn't react as he continued walking, he simply stepped to the side as the gross putty man tried to tackle him from behind. Putty fell to the ground with a weird 'glorp' sound. The boy made a face at that, this had to be one of the grosser quirks he had seen.

"Damn you!" Putty shouted and the young man raised an eyebrow as he melted into a disgusting slime monster and began slithering towards him. He sighed they really were determined to fight him weren't they. Well it was their funeral. He usually loved to spar but these guys were so far beneath him it wasn't even funny, he could honestly beat them without lifting a single finger. And the fight he was watching was just getting good too, they were shouting about using fire or something and the kid with the broken fingers was blasting away the ice and his arms were getting broken too, it was interesting. If they made him miss the end with their bullshit he would kick them into next week.

"Yeah get him!" Antlers shouted and the young man whirled around ready to get rid of them. The weird putty slime man wrapped himself around his ankles and he made a face, this was seriously disgusting he could feel him between his toes. He was so distracted by this development that his senses were disrupted enough that he didn't notice Antlers charging towards him. The next thing he knew the man was on top of him and pinned his arms to the ground. Glue was hovering above him and was laughing as he put his hand over his mouth, ready to begin pouring the foul smelling substance down his throat. Dammit, he had gotten overly cocky. Sure these guys were nobodies and he could easily take them out, but he should know by now not to underestimate people with abilities. He was about to make his move when suddenly a shadow fell over them catching their attention. The putty man unwound himself from around his legs and reformed into a person.

"D-don't tell me…" he stammered sounding terrified. The young man looked up at the source of the shadow and his eyes went wide.

"Do not worry young man, everything will be fine...for I am here!" A voice boldly declared. Standing atop the bridge was the large imposing figure of the symbol of peace himself.

"A-all Might…" the young man muttered, stunned to see him right there in front of him. Before they could do anything the man leapt down and grabbed Glue and Antlers slamming their heads together, instantly knocking them unconscious. He laughed and turned to the stunned Putty and punched him right in the face with what could be described as a relatively weak punch in comparison to what he could normally do. Even then he hit the man with a surprising amount of force.

"Los Angeles Smash!" he announced and Putty exploded flying in all directions. There was a pause and Putty slowly reformed, the once confident expression on his face gone. He fell to All Might's feet and cowered, his hands in the air.

"I-I surrender!" he whimpered meekly. The boy glanced up at the bridge and saw the cops exiting the car that was now parked to the side. When had they showed up, he hadn't heard the sirens or anything. They climbed down the steep ditch and began putting the men in cuffs. All he could do was stare up at them in amazement as he stood in the presence of the world's greatest hero.

"You…" he began finding his words, "YOU'RE SO AWESOME!" he cried his eyes sparkling as he sat there starstruck. Hey, he said he didn't want to _be _a hero, he liked heroes just fine and All Might was no exception. Never mind the fact that he wasn't all too innocent himself as he was currently holding stolen goods as well as just having eaten a stolen snack.

"No need to thank me young man, I'm just doing my job!" All Might announced heroically and the boy squealed, his composure and disposition doing a full one eighty from the indifferent and facetious boy he had just been mere moments ago. This was only the second hero he had met in his relatively short life, well if he counted his grandpa he could technically say he was the third. He didn't really like to count his grandpa in anything though, he hadn't been an especially fond memory of his childhood. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he wondered if All Might had a theme song. All heroes should have a theme song. If he didn't yet he would ask… no wait he couldn't dammit!

"You're so strong and awesome and you have a cool cape!" he gushed unable to control himself, making wild gestures as he did so, "You totally kicked those guys asses! Wanna be my friend we can totally hang out!" All Might just laughed as he ruffled the young man's hair with his unreasonably large hand. Normally he would be annoyed at that, he knew that he looked a bit younger than he actually was but it was still infuriating, however because it was All Might he let it slide.

"Alas my boy, I'd love to but I must go! Evil never sleeps!" Before the boy could do anything to stop him, the hero took off into the sky and shot off into the distance.

"So cool!" he whispered to himself as he watched All Might vanish from sight. He sighed and got to his feet, brushing the dirt off of himself as he did so. True heroes never rest do they. He bent over and picked up the tablet. Turns out he did miss the ending. He frowned, but shrugged, it was worth it he supposed, to meet All Might might have been a bit better than seeing the end of the fight. His stomach rumbled and he remembered that he had missed out on lunch, he gasped in horror, was there a greater sin? With the memory of that he began to run, ready to find something to eat.

"Hey kid! Wait! Are you alright!?" He heard the police shouting behind him but he paid them no mind as he ran off down the path and down an alley to his right. He laughed slightly as he heard their footsteps as they began to chase after him. Maybe they were looking to take care of him, but nonetheless to have the cops chasing after him felt right.

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**So this was chapter one, I hope it was a decent length and interesting enough to grab your attention. I hope this serves as a decent enough introduction to the story and that if you choose to continue reading that you will enjoy it. Feel free to leave a review and if not that's fine as well. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, I have a handful of chapters already written for this and an outline of where I want this story to go. The first chapter was more of an introduction and hopefully from now on we can jump more into the actual plot and character interaction. I'll probably post one more chapter today and then from then on I will update either daily or every couple of days until I run out of chapters and have to continue actually writing. Also, as I am new to this site, if you have any issues with formatting please let me know. For now, please enjoy and right a review if you are so inclined.**

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Chapter 2: The Missing Villain

Aizawa sat across from the hero that was known throughout the world as All Might but to him was simply Yagi Toshinori. If anyone were to see him as he was now however, they might not recognize him anyway. To the rest of the world, All Might was a towering figure with an imposing physique and abs that would put a washboard to shame. He was the symbol of peace, a man whose very silhouette was known by all and by itself was enough to send villains crying home to their mothers. The man who sat before him now was everything but that. He was small, gaunt and his eyes looked like they had fallen out of their sockets leaving nothing behind but a hollow expression that was mildly terrifying to look at. He was frighteningly skinny as well, literally skin and bone. It almost appeared as though the smallest wind could bring him to his knees. He was hardly the figure that the masses would turn to for protection.

"Young Iida insists that he is doing well but I believe we should keep an eye on him," he was saying as he leaned back in his chair. Aizawa resisted the urge to rub at his dry eyes, his face was mostly healed by now but he was hesitant to take any chances. He had only just had the bandages removed early that morning even though he was fairly certain they could have come off before then. Oh well, there was nothing illogical in playing it safe.

"Ingenium is the twenty third hero to be incapacitated by Stain, not including the ones he's actually killed," Aizawa pointed out dully, his voice devoid of any particular emotion. He wasn't known for being a man of passion however he wasn't heartless. To say that he didn't sympathize with his student would be akin to misidentifying him as a sociopath. However he did not find it useful to dwell on the subject of his pupil's well being much longer, he agreed with Toshinori that Iida must be watched but there were more pressing matters to discuss at the moment. "Do the police have any new information on his whereabouts?"

The principal Nezu, a small rodent like creature thought to be a variety or mutation of a mouse or bear, sighed before taking a slow sip of his tea. He was typically a happy sort of character, someone who acted jovial and always had a chipper attitude. However with the recent events, even he was in a solemn mood. He was quiet for a moment as he thought to himself. Despite not being a human, he too possessed a quirk. It was this very quirk that permitted him to walk, talk and function as an average human, and in some respects he was above an average human. His intellect for one was a particular skill that made him a formidable foe if you were not careful. He placed his tea cup down on the table.

"The police are still investigating," he finally said, "however, in some respects, I am alarmed at what may happen if he is caught."

"What do you mean?" Toshinori asked, looking slightly taken aback. Aizawa had a feeling that he knew what Nezu might be getting at, Toshinori had a good heart, but it sometimes made him a bit naive to the world's and especially society's problems.

"Stain, before becoming the Hero Killer, was a outspoken radical who desired to make changes in how the hero community functioned. Despite never really gaining a firm enough following to make a change, his words may have indeed reached those who unfortunately have not benefited from our current form of society. As the Hero Killer, he is more likely to have inspired more fanatics. However I fear that if his message is stopped, if he is taken down by the very organization he disdains…" he paused here to allow Aizawa and Toshinori to follow his train of logic.

"You believe he might be seen as some sort of martyr," Aizawa finished for him, "That it will only inspire others to rise and take his place, carry out his work." Nezu nodded, his face somewhat grim.

"But what about the harm he's doing now," Toshinori pointed out, "We can't just let him continue to take down innocent heroes simply because they don't adhere to his strict ideology," Aizawa nodded slightly, Toshinori wasn't wrong. The situation was complicated and he feared that there might be no winning. They couldn't let a murderer run rampant around Tokyo, but at the same time they had to be cautious about what the repercussions of stopping him might be for their society. It was already precariously balanced, much so like a top, ever since the emergence of quirks several generations ago. They had finally found a way to manage things, however with one hitch on the surface their community spun it could send that precious order they strived to protect spiraling out of control.

"Indeed, we can't," Nezu agreed calmly, "I'm simply pointing out my concerns on the topic," He took another sip of his tea. There was silence after that. Aizawa sighed as he leaned back in his seat, he closed his eyes for a moment to let them rest. He knew he wasn't alone on this, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning, as though this was all just a sort of practice run for the world before the real show began.

"I for one am still concerned about the attack that occurred on campus," he said folding his arms across his chest as he thought, "We still have no idea who this Shigaraki is or why exactly he wanted to harm Toshinori."

"I would say that it was just arrogance, that he wants me out of the way so that he can pull off whatever evil schemes he has in mind but…" Toshinori paused as he reflected back to the attack, "He seemed more eager than that, as though that _was_ his ultimate goal," Aizawa nodded, he may have been incapacitated at the time and barely conscious, but even he had noticed the unnerving desire in the villain's voice. There was no denying that his actions were strange, beyond the minor psychological profile they had pieced together. Investigations were leading nowhere and none of the villains they had caught were talking. At this point if felt as though all they could do was wait for him to resurface.

"Perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye, perhaps he has a personal grudge against All Might. Toshinori do you have any idea who might fill that description?" Nezu asked and Aizawa could see the gears turning in his head. He glanced over at Toshinori who had furrowed his brow, deep in thought as well. After several moments he slowly shook his head.

"No, no I don't think so, at least not anybody in my personal life if that's what you mean," he frowned, "Other than that the only people I would suspect would be those whom I've already put away, that or…" he stopped there, not allowing himself to continue the thought. He looked back at Nezu hoping that he had any insight.

"No, I don't think so. Even if it were a lower class criminal who you had put away and forgotten about, it's not enough of a motive for him to suddenly change this dramatically. To go from a petty criminal to a terrorist is no small shift, especially not out of revenge… perhaps it is a family member of a villain, the son of someone you've put away or defeated. That might fit well with our theory that he may be being nurtured or led down this path…" Nezu spoke as he thought, his thoughts drifting off as his mind shifted gears. Toshinori nodded, as did Aizawa. The principal's logic was sound and his theories seemed plausible. Perhaps they could offer this insight to the police, they could turn their attention to villains who were currently incarcerated in Tartarus. Toshinori sighed and put his head in his hands as a look of shame crossed his face.

"I just can't believe that the students were put in harm's way because of me," he said, his voice sullen. Aizawa sighed and shook his head slightly.

"Your sense of guilt is illogical," he said calmly, "Villains these days are not rare, and neither should it be unexpected that they'd come after us eventually. You may be powerful Toshinori but you are not a god, you can't be expected to be able to do everything so there is no use in your shame, all we can do is learn from this experience to ensure that it does not happen again," he continued, intending to both reassure his colleague as well as remind himself that they must not let their guards down like that again. The era of peace that All Might had ushered in had made them lazy. They hadn't been prepared and that had lead to many of the students' lives being at risk. They would need to up their security from now on and ensure that no one had access to their plans.

"I feel as though I'm failing everyone, I still haven't been able to track down that villain from two months ago, add that to my weakening abilities and the attack on U.A and I can't help but feel useless," Toshinori said after a moment.

"Ah yes, the 'Crazed Ravager of Tokyo' I believe the media called him," Nezu joined in, his tone shifting to be much lighter. Aizawa wondered if he had shifted the topic of conversation in the hopes of lifting Toshinori out of his cloud of shame. It seemed to have worked somewhat as he lifted his head, curious to hear what the principal had to say on the matter. "That one still bothers me, the police have no leads on that case either?"

"That's correct, the trail has grown increasingly cold," Toshinori answered seeming perplexed, "It is truly unusual, it's as if the culprit has vanished into thin air." Aizawa raised an eyebrow. So far each of the cases they had mentioned were unsolved and their investigations stalling, but the Ravager was the only case that had gone completely and utterly cold. There were no suspects, no leads, no clues and furthermore no one had even been able to get a good look at the culprit due to his (or her) insane speed. All eyewitnesses reported the same thing, a strange red blur and a manic screaming as buildings were knocked down and cars were tossed halfway across the district. They had investigated dozens of people with speed quirks, but none of the registered citizens had ever demonstrated abilities to that degree. Especially not when you considered that whomever was responsible had to have insane strength as well.

"That is troubling," Nezu said taking another sip of his tea, "It's almost as if he were a phantom, I've never heard of a villain who would tear up a city one day and then simply vanish off the map, do you suppose he left the country?"

"I've been following the news closely and there haven't been any reports of anything remotely similar in any other part of the world," Toshinori replied, shaking his head "It's honestly baffling, none of the detectives I've spoken to can offer the slightest idea as to where they might have gone," he sighed again, "I suppose it means I have failed you all yet again."

"The Ravager only disappeared once you intervened," Aizawa mused, putting his hand to his chin as he thought it over, "I'm impressed you were able to get a clean hit on him, none of the other heroes were even able to touch him due to his insane speed."

"Indeed, even heroes known for their speed and agility like Ingenium couldn't keep up," Nezu pointed out and Aizawa nodded. It was truly impressive, even on footage any images they caught of him on camera were blurred and even with the most recent editing softwares they could only get a rough silhouette. At most they could tell that the Ravager was between 5'5" and 6'0" (166 cm-183 cm) and had a slim figure. That could describe half the citizens of Japan, hell it could be literally anyone. Average build and no discernible features, no wonder the police didn't have any leads.

"It was chance really that they were caught in the blast from one of my punches, I took the opportunity when they were stunned to hit them," Toshinori seemed a bit annoyed with himself, "I figured that we would be able to find them afterwards, I had no idea that I would actually punch them off the face of the map!"

"Perhaps you are on to something," Aizawa pointed out, "Perhaps when you struck them, you knocked them out and they fell into a body of water causing them to drown or even lose their memory," that was entirely possible. All Might's punch had been enough to send the Ravager flying off into the night and no one had been able to tell where he had landed. The whole situation as well as the idea that the Ravager might still be out there somewhere had shaken the community. Before All Might had shown up, they had been on a warpath and taken out several heroes.

"That's very possible," Nezu nodded in agreement, "however I find it more intriguing to ask why they did what they did. Some villains do attack at random, that's true, but that's usually out of ego and the desire for power. They like to see people fear them, to feel as though they are on top and they often challenge heroes. The Ravager was silent except for their screams, it seemed to be blind rage in their case. What brought about such fury, what was their goal? Furthermore they only fought the heroes when they either got in their way or attacked them. Fascinating is it not?" Aizawa nodded, everything about this villain was beyond bizarre. It didn't match anything they had ever really encountered before. The higher ups were trying to suppress discussion of it in the media as it looked bad that a villain could destroy several city blocks and disappear without a trace. For the most part it was working but there were several online forums that refused to let the story die.

"All I know is that at the time, with how my ability has weakened over the years, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle them. If the Ravager shows up again, they will pose a serious risk to us and to the community...I'm the one that let them get away, they're my responsibility," Toshinori said, his voice low. Aizawa was a silent and reserved man. Toshinori was not. As much as Toshinori could get on his nerves with his bold and overbearing personality, he still considered him his friend. He disliked seeing him in this state.

"They're the responsibility of all heroes," Aizawa said, his voice calm, "To place that on your shoulders alone is illogical. If a hero were to find them and you were not present, would you suggest they simply shrug their shoulders in resignation and leave?" Toshinori blinked in surprise at Aizawa's words, "Do not forget that it is the duty of all of us to protect our community, you are not alone in this." There was silence for a moment as Toshinori processed what he said, then a small smile crossed his lips and he let out a small laugh.

"I suppose you are right Aizawa, perhaps I have been expecting a little too much of myself and expecting too little of the rest of you," Toshinori leaned back in his seat as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Maybe he hadn't alleviated his fears entirely but for now he had allowed him to relax.

"Nonetheless it's an intriguing case," Nezu said after a short pause, "If we are able to catch them, I would like to ask them a few things". Aizawa nodded in agreement. There were many questions to be had and so far none had been answered. Thus far the case of the Ravager and his current whereabouts were the single most puzzling incident that he had ever tried to piece together. Who were they? Where had they gone? And most importantly:

What were they planning to do next?

* * *

The boy sat at the counter of the coffee shop nibbling on a fork as he waited for the cakes lady to bring him something to eat. She was the same woman who had fed him last time. She was a kind woman who apparently couldn't stand to see him out there in the rain. Not that he was taking advantage of that, he just happened to be wandering by again using his blanket as an umbrella when she had called out to him. She really was something else, she insisted on using him as a taste tester for her new recipes as he was the only one who had been just as enthusiastic about her food as she was. He just laughed at that and heartily accepted, like he was going to turn down an offering of free sweets. He had just finished devouring an entire apple pie and he was eagerly awaiting more.

"So you said the last one had a bit too much cinnamon? What about this one?" the woman asked leaving her apartment that was just above the shop. The boy looked up and smiled when he saw her carrying down another apple pie. It smelled delicious. It had been a long time since someone treated him like this. It brought back memories of when he was just a little kid, when he would go into town so that he wouldn't be alone anymore and sit at Party's Bar and the woman behind the counter would spoil him with hot chocolate and cake. Those had been some of the fondest memories of his childhood, and then his grandfather would come home and he wasn't allowed to visit her while grandpa was there. And then one day he wasn't allowed to go in to town at all anymore and those fond memories of Party's Bar were fleeting and far away like they had never happened at all.

"Too much cinnamon but still good," he reassured her, "You really are a great baker!" she set the pie down in front of him and he grinned with delight. It was so good to have those memories back again.

"Thank you," she said taking the previous plate from the counter and setting it in the sink, "And you are a wonderful taste tester…" she paused for a moment, "What did you say your name was again?"

"Oh!" the boy blinked realizing he had never said, he swallowed the mouthful of food and grinned, "I'm Luffy!"

"Luffy, what an interesting name, you really aren't from around here are you?" he laughed at that, she had no idea, "well my name is Natsuki," she said as she wiped down the counter.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully, his words mildly garbled through the food he was cramming into his mouth. He wasn't eating as fast as he usually did because using abilities was apparently a no no in these parts. Even if it was for something as mundane as eating desserts he wasn't sure if it would be okay or if the cops might still be called on him or something. The people here were real tattle tales. As it was, he was doing his best to restrain himself though that didn't stop him from looking like a half starved animal as he scarfed down the pie.

"You must seriously be hungry…" she said as she watched him devour the food as if he might never see another meal again. He just laughed.

"Oh yeah! I'm starving, but I'm usually starving so..." he said, his voice never wavering. She opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it again, a look of concern on her face. That confused him, she was always giving him these sad looks, he wasn't sure what that was all about. That was how most of the people around here acted, that or they ignored him like it was uncomfortable to look at him. That was the more normal response in his opinion, that made sense to him. She paused for a moment as if torn between wanting to say something or do something. After a weird several seconds she finally turned to head back upstairs to her apartment.

"I'll get started on the muffins," she said as she left the room. Luffy just watched her go. She was a nice but strange lady. He finished eating the pie several seconds later and resumed chewing on the fork. His mind drifted off as he sat there as it was wont to do. He was so zoned out that he almost didn't notice the man as he entered the coffee shop and sat down at the counter only two seats down from him. He glanced over at him, this had been the first customer he had seen today, he wondered why this place was so empty. There had been plenty of people here last time he had come to visit. He guessed it was just slow business.

He glanced up at the T.V that was on the wall to his right, it was playing the news which was usually the same three stories on repeat throughout the day as well as the weather. Luffy made a face, he had never much cared for the news unless it affected him directly. That didn't happen often, more likely it was just some story about how world leaders were planning to make changes or alliances or whatever world leaders did. If it wasn't that then it was some stupid story about how a woman had knitted a scarf for her dog or something equally boring. The news here had the benefit of being on T.V but that only made it interesting for so long until he eventually got bored anyway. Right now the woman on the screen was detailing the weather patterns for today, she was discussing something about cold fronts and barometric pressure. He sighed, he couldn't deny it was making him a little homesick, he missed…

"_In other news, police are still searching for the infamous Hero Killer Stain,_" the channel abruptly changed pace, startling him out of his thoughts. "_Two days ago, the hero Ingenium was attacked by the notorious man known as the Hero Killer," _Luffy's eyes widened as the story caught his attention. He took the fork out of his mouth and gaped a bit as he processed what they were talking about.

"The Hero Killer…?" he breathed in mild disbelief, who would ever want to kill a hero? That was madness, heroes were so cool! Could they not see their capes!? They were all like 'swoosh' and the heroes were all like 'woosh' and they had cool theme songs and wore masks and saved the day! They were the good guys! Who would want to kill them?

"Don't worry kid, we'll catch him," the man at the counter next to him said, a reassuring smile on his face. Luffy blinked, who was this guy? He looked the man over again and realized that he was wearing a police uniform. Well that was a bit awkward, he didn't mind hanging out with law enforcement, it was just a bit strange to see them treating him so nicely. Usually the instant they saw his face they would outright attack him or chase him out of town. He was still getting used to this place. He turned his attention back to the screen to try and figure out what the news lady was talking about.

"_Luckily Ingenium survived the attack and is now recovering with his family," _she continued as an image of the hero flashed on screen, he had a cool outfit but no cape. Maybe that was what the hero killer despised, "_The investigation is ongoing and the police have asked us to tell you that if you have information on the whereabouts of Stain that you should contact the authorities immediately"._

"Why does he want to kill heroes?" Luffy asked, still trying to wrap his mind around that. The officer sighed.

"He believes that heroes should be completely altruistic, the heroes that use their status simply for fame and money don't deserve to be heroes, they are hypocrites who deserve to die," he explained. Luffy wrinkled his nose at that reasoning.

"That's dumb," he said, his voice flat.

"I agree, it's no reason to end someone's life-" the officer began, shaking his head in disapproval of the Hero Killer's actions. Luffy abruptly cut him off, not wanting the man to misunderstand him.

"No, it's naive and honestly it's deluded," he said, his voice strangely cold. The officer stared at him in surprise. "Nobody's completely selfless like that, it's dumb to think that those who do good from ulterior motives should be killed, in that case you'd have to kill each and every one of us". The officer blinked at him, stunned by his oddly pessimistic words.

"I..uh…" he began not sure what to say to that.

"He wants to kill people? That's fine by me, but he shouldn't lie to himself about having some greater morals than the rest of us, it's cowardly," he said bluntly. Then the cold expression on his face melted to that of mirth and he burst into cheerful laughter, "He's an idiot isn't he!?" The man just stammered, not even sure how to respond to that random insight or sudden change in behavior. Before he could say anything though, Natsuki re-entered the shop.

"Oh! Luffy why didn't you say there was someone waiting here?" she asked as she noticed the cop sitting at the counter. Luffy just shrugged as she came down to take his order. As he waited for Natsuki to fill his order, he stared at Luffy as though he were from another world. When she handed him his cup, he took it and without another word he left the shop. Natsuki raised her eyebrow and gave Luffy a look of confusion. He just shrugged, as lost as she was.

"He's a funny guy isn't he," he pointed out with a big grin on his face. She just smiled and shook her head as she began putting away the things behind the counter. Luffy didn't really have a name for half of them, but that's how he felt about most things in this city. He glanced back over at the T.V which was now playing some story about a dog singing competition which was to be expected. They didn't tend to dwell on one story for too long. Seeing the T.V made him wish he still had his tablet, he hadn't known that they didn't interact well with water. He had only been standing out in the rain with it for a few minutes and then all the sudden it started flashing and shut down completely. He sighed sadly and began tracing little doodles awkwardly on the counter with his index finger. It had been so cool too...

He was now lost in thought, mourning the loss of his beloved tablet and contemplating whether or not he should steal another one. He hardly noticed as Natsuki began humming faintly as she reorganized her cupboards. It blended in nicely with the sound of the rain. It was making him a bit drowsy to be honest, especially combined with his partially full stomach which always made him sleepy. He had eaten so many sweets today, it was crazy just how quick she was at making them. He was just about to ask her when the muffins would be ready when he noticed a presence behind him. He was about to turn around to figure out what it was when something struck him hard across the back of the head. He fell to the floor stunned, letting out a faint oof.

"Hey Luffy, you okay? That sounded- oh my God!" he heard Natsuki shriek as she dropped a coffee mug which shattered against the hardwood floor. Luffy looked up to see two armed men, one was holding the pistol that had been used to strike him over the head.

"Give us the money and we'll go," the armed man said, his voice calm. Luffy watched as Natsuki nodded, too frightened to do anything else but tremble as she slowly approached the register. He felt a surge of anger, this woman had been nothing but nice to him the whole time she had known him. She had offered him a warm place to wait out the storm and given him plenty of food and drink. Most of all she, reminded him of Makino, the woman he regarded almost as his older sister or maybe even a mother. He would not let this stand. He leapt to his feet and tackled the man with the gun, knocking him to the floor causing him to drop his weapon.

"Hey!" the second man said alarmed by Luffy's sudden attack. Luffy raised his fist to strike the pinned man in the face but was stopped by Natsuki screaming out his name. He glanced over at her in alarm only to see that she was fine but was staring at the second man. He looked up at him to see that he had drawn his own gun and was pointing it straight at Luffy.

"Make a single move and I'll blow your brains out," he threatened, Luffy just stared at him for a moment unimpressed before glancing back at Natsuki. She looked terrified. A wave of anger rose in him, how dare they scare her like that! Without hesitating he launched himself at the second man. There was the sound of a gunshot and Luffy felt the bullet hit him square in the gut. He caught his breath, that small pistol packed quite a punch, much more than he was used to. It ricocheted off of him nonetheless but the force of it was enough to knock him back. He stumbled to his knees and he heard Natsuki scream as he fell, he barely had time to get back up before another shot hit him in the chest and he fell back yet again as the wind was knocked out of him. Seriously what the hell was up with those bullets.

"You shouldn't challenge someone with an ammunitions quirk, idiot," the man sneered. Ah so that was it, his quirk was directing the bullets to hit vital points and increase the strength of the hit so that he honestly felt like he'd just been punched with haki. The second bullet had actually been enough to pierce his chest a bit but it wasn't very deep. It had just been lodged in the muscles and tissue above his ribcage. Still it was enough to cause a bit of bleeding and at the sight of it Natsuki looked like she was going to be sick. Luffy glared up at the man who was ready to fire another round if Luffy so much as moved. If they had been unarmed he could easily have taken them in a fist fight but this guy's quirk made it so that he would have to use his abilities. Dammit, he'd been trying really hard not to get caught doing that. He could hear sirens in the distance now, perhaps someone had heard the gunshots.

"The money now! And I'll let you call an ambulance!" he snapped at Natsuki, she jumped, "If you don't, I'll kill him right now!" she rushed to the register and began fumbling to pull out the money. Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he might as well. In one short second of concentration, he released a wave of haki into the air around him. He wasn't selective. It was as if a small burst of wind blasted through the small shop, blowing everything back a bit. The two armed men's eyes rolled back and they collapsed to the ground, their mouths foaming slightly. The wood of the floor creaked slightly and napkins flew about as the haki breezed through the environment. Everything went still.

"W-wha…" Natsuki muttered before she too slumped to the floor. Luffy sighed, he really hadn't wanted to knock her out as well but the cops were on their way and if they saw that he had used his abilities they would arrest him or something right? Natsuki would've just gotten in his way. She would be fine, by the time she woke up the cops would be there and she would be safe. He got to his feet and reached into the bullet hole in his chest with his fingers. It really was a shallow wound, but it was bleeding a surprising amount. He grabbed the metal and pulled it out, dropping it on the floor before grabbing some napkins to put to the wound. He'd never been shot before, so this was sort of a new experience for him. He wondered if she had a first aid kit. Would a band aid work or would he need something bigger. He thought for a moment before coming to the conclusion that a band aid most likely wouldn't cut it. This really wasn't his specialty. Where was his doctor when he needed him?

The sirens were getting louder. He grabbed another handful of napkins, he would just use these and tear up his shirt to make a bandage. He didn't have time to search for an actual first aid kit. He stepped over the fallen men and exited the shop. As he did so he bumped right into a young teenager who was walking outside, nearly knocking him over. He took a step back and looked at him, he seemed a bit...familiar. Where had he seen him before?

"Hey watch it!" he growled, but Luffy paid him no mind he just took off down the street, "Hey! What!? Dude you're bleeding! What the-HEY! What the hell happened in there!" the kid called after him as he ran but Luffy didn't stop he just turned down an alleyway and continued running. The sounds of sirens were deafening by now and he could hear the kid shouting something as the police cars pulled up to the shop. He didn't waste any time and began weaving his way back to his bridge, hoping that he wasn't leaving behind a trail of blood for them to follow.

* * *

**Hopefully a bit more interesting than the first chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, we've established Luffy into the story. I suppose it's about time our other protagonist arrives on the scene, I fear he might be a bit shy but perhaps that's why it took three chapters to introduce him into the plot. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but hopefully still good. It's also a bit slower than the others in terms of plot development but I felt it was necessary to establish where we are in the BNHA story. I don't know, this might be the last chapter I upload today but I might post another depending. I am also bumping up the rating to M due to some harsher language and violence in upcoming chapters, its nothing too extreme but I'm playing it safe.**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Criminal

Izuku was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Everything had been happening so fast it was hard to process it all. Just last year he had been a scrawny little nobody, a quirk-less idiot with a dream that would impossible to follow through on. This morning he had been just short of a celebrity as he rode the train to class. Nearly everybody there had recognized him as one of the kids who had almost won the tournament. Many had complimented him on getting as far as he had while others described how they had been rooting for him to win. It was honestly mind blowing. He hadn't expected the rise to stardom to be so sudden. He figured that it would all blow over within a few weeks, he couldn't imagine this to last for very long. He didn't know if he could handle it lasting much longer, or maybe he would just get used to it. If he wanted to become the world's number one hero like All Might he supposed he would have to.

However it wasn't just his sudden claim to fame that was making his head spin. There were other things troubling him as well. His good friend Iida for instance. In the middle of the sports festival he had been informed that his brother, the hero known as Ingenium, had been gravely injured by the Hero Killer Stain. It had been shocking news and Izuku hadn't seen his friend at all over the two day break following the tournament. When he had seen him again this morning he had seemed fine, but his older brother, a man he must truly love and idolize, had been hospitalized and may have to give up his duties as a hero permanently. He was also too quick to dismiss Izuku's concerns. Iida was definitely not all right.

With these thoughts whirling around in his mind he entered the classroom. It seemed most of the other students in class 1-A had arrived. The room was loud with chatter, it appeared that he wasn't the only one who had received a sudden increase in attention after the tournament. Everyone was discussing with one another all the times they had been approached on their way to school or out on the streets over the break. Even those who really hadn't had a time to shine like Mineta had gotten attention from strangers all over town. Everyone seemed to be extremely pleased with themselves, letting the sudden attention get to their head. He couldn't blame them, it was really flattering to have everybody recognize your face.

"All it took was one sports festival and suddenly we're like celebrities!" Kaminari was saying as Izuku moved to take his seat. His clothes were a little damp still from the rain but the umbrella had done its job for the most part. He sat down at his desk and noticed that the seat in front of him was surprisingly empty. That was Bakugo's seat…

"Morning," came a gruff voice from the front of the room. Izuku glanced up to see that their teacher, Aizawa or the hero otherwise known (well to some) as Eraserhead, was standing in the doorway.

"Good morning Mr. Aizawa," the class said together in greeting. Aizawa made his way to the front of the classroom, looking just as enthusiastic as ever. Izuku was just surprised he hadn't shown up in a sleeping bag as he had on their first day of class and many days following it.

"Mr. Aizawa, you don't have bandages anymore, that's good news," Tsu observed, putting her finger to her chin. Izuku looked back at their teacher. She was right, the bandages he had been wearing ever since the attack on the USJ were gone. With the wrappings gone he was back to his normal scruffy unkempt appearance rather than sporting the cantankerous mummy look he had had for the past several days.

"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment," he answered scratching at his face. It must still feel a bit weird. He had taken a real beating trying to protect the rest of them. Izuku still felt guilty about not being able to do more to help. "Anyway, we have a big class today on hero informatics," the entire room groaned all at once. Nobody was ready for this. The tension in the room grew to an unbearable degree as they waited for Aizawa to continue.

"You need code names," he said flatly, "Time to pick your hero identity," Just like that the tension was gone. Everyone practically jumped out of their seats with excitement.

"THIS IS GONNA BE TOTALLY AWESOME!" They cried in unison. Aizawa's eyes flashed red as he activated his quirk, his hair swirling upwards in dark tendrils around his head. The class quieted down after that, they couldn't deny that he was a bit intimidating when he did that. Especially when he growled like a wild beast ready to murder them all if they didn't shut up. It was an effective tactic.

"This is related to the pro-hero draftings I mentioned the last time we were in class together," he continued bluntly as though nothing had happened, "Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet. Not until their second or third year actually, but your class is different. In fact, by offering positions to first years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, however," Aizawa explained to the class who were listening intently.

"Stupid, selfish, adults," Mineta said bringing his fist down on the desk as he spoke, he was trembling slightly but whether it was fear or excitement Izuku couldn't be sure.

"So what you're saying is we have to prove ourselves, even after getting recruited," Hagakure, the invisible girl, chimed in.

"Correct. Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers," Aizawa answered pressing a button on a remote control. The board behind him lit up, showing the lists of offers for the students. To nobody's great surprise, Todoroki was at the top closely followed by Bakugo. Izuku frowned, suddenly remembering that he wasn't present. He might seem to be the rebellious type who would skip out on classes but Izuku knew that Ka-chan was an exceptionally good student. He wondered if he was sick or something.

"In past years, it's been more spread out but there's a pretty big gap this time," Aizawa stated, gesturing towards the list. There were several groans and complaints from students who hadn't received any offers like Kaminari while others discussed how Todoroki had beaten Bakugo in overall amount of offers. Ururaka was practically bouncing in her seat, shaking poor Iida back and forth in glee as she saw how many offers the two of them received. Izuku turned back to the board, scanning over the list for his name. To his dismay it wasn't there. He slumped back in his seat as Mineta began shaking him very similarly to Ururaka.

"Midoriya, you got none!" he unhelpfully pointed out, "I bet everyone was really grossed out by the crazy way you were fighting," Izuku frowned, he really needed to get in better control of One for All or else he wasn't going to get anywhere.

"Despite these results," Aizawa began, hushing the students, "You'll all be interning with pros, got it? Even those of you who didn't get any offers," Izuku felt a wave of relief at those words.

"Oh, so we're all interning?" he asked a bit confused by this turn of events.

"Yes, you all got to experience real combat during the attack on the USJ facility, but it will still be helpful to see pros at work. Up close and personal. In the field. Firsthand." Aizawa answered.

"And for that we need hero names!" Sato chimed in.

"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!" Ururaka cried, her voice as energetic and optimistic as ever. Izuku smiled at her enthusiasm, he sometimes wished he could be as confident as her.

"These hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-" Aizawa began but he was cut off as the door to the classroom was thrown open.

"Or there will be hell to pay later!" Midnight finished for him. Kaminari, Sero and Mineta all jumped up in excitement at the sudden appearance of the R rated hero. "What you pick today could be your code name for life. You'd better be careful or you might get stuck with something utterly indecent," she explained dramatically as she strutted across the front of the classroom to meet Aizawa, unashamedly showing off her more feminine components.

"It's Midnight!" Everyone cried in surprise (and some in longing).

"Yeah she's got a point," Aizawa conceded as he allowed the woman to take her spot next to him, "Midnight is going to have final approval over your names, it's not my forte," he continued as he rummaged under the podium, pulling out the yellow sleeping bag. _Ah, there it is,_ Izuku thought to himself. "The name you give yourself is important, it helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you are going to be in the future. A code name tells people exactly what you represent, take All Might for example," Izuku listened closely as Aizawa spoke. _My hero name… _he thought as he passed back the boards that had been handed to him to the people behind him, _I need something that embodies the kind of hero I want to be one day…_

Most of the class period was spent in discussion. Many of the students turned to one another as they voiced their thoughts and gave each other feedback. All Izuku could do was stare at the board in front of him. How could he possible pick a single name or word that could represent him. Thousands of ideas whirled around his mind for everyone else except himself. He hadn't even realized he had begun to mutter furiously under his breath until Mineta tapped him on the shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of it. _Think, Izuku, think _he told himself furiously. But nothing came to mind and he stared hopelessly at the blank board in front of him.

Finally the time came to present their ideas to the class. Some had come up with pretty neat ideas, ideas that hadn't even crossed his mind until they shared them and only now did he realize that they were perfect. Others were a bit less perfect and required a significant amount of tampering on the part of Midnight. He sank lower into his seat, dreading the moment he would hear his own name called. The number of students left was slowly dwindling and he knew his name would be called any minute now. And then it suddenly hit him. The only code name that _could _work. It was perfect.

"Well, Midoriya, are you ready?" Midnight asked when it was finally his turn to present.

"Oh! Yes!" he replied, stammering slightly. He stood up and made his way to the podium at the front of the classroom. _This is it, it has to be, _he thought as in the last few seconds he jotted down his idea on the board. Finally he turned the board around and presented his idea to the class, they all gasped in surprise.

"Are you sure about that Midoriya?" Kaminari asked.

"Yeah man, you could have that name forever," Kirishima chimed in.

"Right," Izuku began, a bit awkwardly, "I used to hate it, but then something changed, I guess…" he paused for a brief moment as he remembered the first few days of class, "Someone taught me that it could have a different meaning. And that had a huge impact on how I felt. So now I really like it." He said, smiling at Ururaka who was smiling just as widely back. He thought back to his fight with Bakugo during training several days ago and the promise he had made to surpass him, "Deku! That has to be my code name!"

The school bell rang as the class began passing around the papers. Izuku had to admit he felt a little nervous now that he was looking at the list of choices in front of him. What if he made a bad decision and what if the hero didn't like him or what if he messed everything up and he blew his chances!? He heard other students around him discussing similar concerns and wondering where they might end up interning.

"Turn in your choices before the weekend," Aizawa droned as he began exiting the classroom.

"We've only got two days!?" Sero cried, his voice full of dismay.

"Yeah so you should start now," he said heading out the door, Midnight was already out in the hall, "You're dismissed," he said turning to face them before he left, closing the door behind him. Everyone sighed as they looked down at the lists in front of them.

By lunchtime everyone was feeling the weight of their choice more than ever. Half the class didn't even bother to exit the classroom, they weren't feeling very hungry and the overcrowded dining hall wouldn't do much to put them at ease. Izuku was no exception, he was staring so intensely at his list that if he had had some sort of heat vision quirk he would have burnt a hole right through it by now. He heard his classmates announcing who their top choices would be and wondering why didn't more people want to enlist them after they had done so well in the tournament. He didn't pay them any mind though, he was too lost in thought to pay attention to what they were saying. He didn't even realize that he had begun muttering to himself again as he often did when he was focused.

"...there are only forty heroes who'll take us, so after looking at their specialties and splitting them into groups I can start narrowing down…" he mumbled under his breath and he heard the entire class groan in exasperation which effectively startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped slightly and felt his cheeks go pink as he realized what he had been doing, it was a habit he was trying to break out of. "Huh!? Oh, sorry! What'd you guys say!?" he asked when he realized that Ururaka had been attempting to speak to him.

"You're really thinking hard about this aren't you?" Tsu asked. That was a bit of an understatement to be honest.

"It'll all work out!" Ururaka said in her usual cheery demeanor, he was beginning to wonder if anything phased her, "I've settled on my pick!"

"Already!?"

"What agency?"

"The one that Battle Hero, Gunhead, runs!" she answered, her smile not wavering. Izuku raised an eyebrow in confusion. That was not the kind of hero he could picture Ururaka working with.

"But Gunhead's a big brawler though," he pointed out, making sure that she hadn't gotten confused or something, "Are you sure that's where you wanna intern, Ururaka?"

"Yeah! He sent me an offer!" she said punching the air with her fist and looking mighty pleased with herself.

"Whoa really?" Izuku asked in amazement, he had to admit he was impressed, "But I thought you were trying to be a hero kinda like 13 more into rescuing than fighting."

"Ultimately, that's the plan," she explained, "But I've been thinking ever since the festival, well at least since I faced off against Bakugo," she paused for a moment and took a heroic pose, her fist outstretched and her eyes twinkling, "The stronger I am, the more possibilities I'll have! Plus learning from a Battle Hero will give me a different perspective, right?" Izuku blinked, he hadn't thought of it like that before. Now that she had pointed that out, he couldn't argue with her.

"Yeah totally," he paused for a moment, at the mention of Bakugo he glanced at the empty seat in front of him, "Speaking of Bakugo, does anyone know where he is?" he asked. The other students looked at each other shrugging and shaking their heads.

"I haven't seen him all day," Ojiro voiced, looking at the others as if they had some clue.

"Maybe you should ask Kirishima," Tsu pointed out, "He is like the closest you can get to being friends with someone as hot headed as he is." The other students nodded in agreement and a few of them chuckled slightly. As though the sound of his name had summoned him, the students all turned as they heard a strange commotion out in the hallway. They could clearly hear Kirishima's loud voice through the classroom door and someone angrily growling back at him.

"Dude come on, I saw it on the news and you've been gone like all day! You gotta tell me what the hell happened!?" The door slammed open and there stood the sulking form of Bakugo Katsuki. Izuku could see that he was absolutely livid, his eyes screamed of murder even more so than usual. He strode into the classroom and pushed past those who were standing in his way, not even acknowledging their presence. He sat down heavily in his seat, his arms folded and his eyes low. His angered aura radiated out into the air making everyone fall silent, everyone except Kirishima that is.

"You can't expect me to not be curious, the media jumped right on it, they were all like 'Hero in Training Turned Rogue'" he outstretched his arm as though he were describing the words written on a neon sign, "What the hell happened, they said you and two armed men attacked a barista and maybe killed some kid-"

"FOR THE LAST TIME I DIDN'T DO IT!" Bakugo screamed slamming his fist down on the desk and silencing his sort-of friend, "I was cleared by the cops in like an hour ok!? It was all a misunderstanding, the tapes prove I wasn't even there!" Izuku looked over at his classmates in astonishment. They were all just staring at Bakugo with wide eyes, an equal look of stunned puzzlement on their faces. They were all clearly wondering the same thing, what the hell were they talking about? Had Kirishima mentioned murdering someone. Izuku knew that Ka-chan had a hot temper but he always knew that deep down he wasn't that bad a guy. He certainly couldn't imagine him actually taking a life in cold blood, even if his catchphrase was usually just to scream at his opponent to die. Bakugo seemed to notice that all eyes were currently on him and he turned to glare at them.

"THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT!" he screamed and they all looked away awkwardly, some turned back and sat down at their desks, not wanting to get involved in whatever the hell was going on. There was an awkward silence and Kirishima sat down in the seat next to him, concern clearly displayed on his face.

"Look, I believe you man," he said calmly and Bakugo looked away, returning to his sulking, "But you have to tell me what happened." Bakugo rolled his eyes, but he seemed to calm down a bit.

"I don't have to tell you anything," he muttered but after a moment he seemed to relent, "Look I was on my way to class when some asshole ran into me outta nowhere, I was gonna tell him to go to hell when I realized he was covered in blood, he ran off before I could even tell what was happening," Kirishima nodded, eyebrows raised as he listened to the story, "I noticed that he had come from the coffee shop next to me and I looked inside and saw it was covered with blood and everyone was unconscious, it was a total mess. I was gonna chase after the guy and demand he tell me what the hell just happened when all the sudden the damn cops show up and tackle me like I did something wrong!"

"That's wild, man," Kirishma said and Bakugo scowled, "They thought you did it?"

"Yeah, they accused me of being an accomplice! They held me at the crime scene for like an hour, it wasn't until the lady woke up and told them what happened that they realized that I wasn't involved at all, and then they insisted I stay behind and tell them everything I know!" he growled, "They finally got the camera working and when they watched the tapes they realized that it had been the damn kid who ran into me who used his quirk to knock them out after they shot him or some vigilante or something, and now there's a big search for him but they think he's probably dead by now," The entire classroom was completely silent. They had all been listening in and none of them could do anything besides give each other wide eyed looks. To be honest, most of them would probably believe that Bakugo had been involved in some way if they didn't know him so well. It wasn't hard to imagine that the police running into a livid Bakugo covered in blood chasing after one of the victims wouldn't mistake him for one of the culprits. Based on what Kirishima had said, the media had already taken off with the idea.

"Are you ok Ka-chan?" Izuku asked, he hadn't seen Bakugo this genuinely upset in a while, it was beyond just anger. This incident might seriously ruin his chances at being number one hero or even a hero at all. His reputation might have just been ruined if this story didn't blow over. Just two days after having been announced as the winner of the Sports Festival he was now being presented as a criminal. Any story clearing his name wouldn't completely remove this stain on his reputation. His simple involvement had blown a relatively small story way out of proportion and he probably felt like everyone's eyes were on him. Ka-chan could be a major jerk at times, especially to him, but Izuku couldn't help but feel sorry for his circumstance.

"Shut up trash! I wasn't talking to you!" Bakugo snapped at him and Izuku shrank back. Why was he always so angry? Kirishima glanced over at him and gave him an apologetic look before turning back to Bakugo.

"He's got a point dude," he said, "for real, are you ok?" Bakugo snarled and leapt out of his seat.

"I'M FINE! NOW WILL OF YOU JUST FUCK OFF!?" he shouted before storming out of the classroom and slamming the door behind him. There was total silence in the classroom for a brief minute as they waited for the tension to resolve itself. Kirishima sighed and shook his head.

"I've never seen him so angry," he said, "Even after winning the tournament, that was just his usual hot temper," he leaned back in his seat.

"You should probably just leave him alone then for a while," Tsu offered, cool headed as ever. Izuku nodded, it would probably be best to avoid him for awhile and let him cool off. He might be a bit touchy for a couple days, or more touchy than he usually was at least.

"He was acting pretty strange, he didn't even tell us to die once," Ururaka added, "That's like, his thing!"

"Tis nobler to die with dignity than to live without shame," Fumikage said sagely from the back of the classroom. Unsurprisingly he had remained mostly silent and only spoke now to impart his words of wisdom unto the world.

"Is it just me or is the world going crazy?" Ashido asked, "First we get attacked by super villains and then the Hero Killer shows up and now Bakugo's been accused of murder, even if he's been cleared, it's just been an insane few days." She could say that again. It was like ever since they had joined U.A they had signed up to let their lives be turned upside down. Izuku glanced over at Iida who had been strangely silent during lunch period. He had been strangely silent all day to be fair. He just hoped that everything would go back to normal soon.

* * *

**Bakugo might not be my favorite character, but I am definitely interested in where his story might go. I think he has a lot of potential for growth in the story and if handled right he might grow to be in my top five. I just need him to get over his massive ego and inferiority complex, sometimes I just want to slap him (though these traits could become more likable with character growth). As it is I think my fav. characters from this series are:**

** 1) Fumikage (he's just cool to me, a good edgy birb)**

**2) Aoyama (he's just so weird and shiny)**

**3) Izuku (he's a bean)**

**4) ****Aizawa (he's literally me) **

**5) All Might (he's such a dad to Izuku and such a dork)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope I've managed to retain your interest at this point. If you're reading this, I suppose I have. If that's the case, seriously, thanks for reading. If you enjoy reading this even half as much as I enjoy writing it then I have accomplished my goal. I'm still a bit nervous putting this out there as this is my first story, but now that I see that I have at least a few people reading I might feel confident enough to post other stories I've had on my mind. As it is, here's chapter 4, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Rogue

The day had quieted down as class came to an end. Bakugo had been significantly more calm when he had returned to class. It was almost unnerving actually and Izuku resisted the temptation to approach him after school. He figured that given that Bakugo didn't particularly like him (and that was putting it lightly), his attempts to console him might make things worse. As it was, he had enough on his plate with homework and choosing a company to intern at. He didn't need Bakugo to chuck him out the window or blast his face off as well.

"Hey Deku! Wanna walk together?" Ururaka asked as she approached him, a little bounce in her step as usual. He smiled and nodded, glad to be in her company. She grinned as well and turned back to ask Iida as well, "Iida, come with u-" she began before realizing that his seat was already empty. "Huh?"

"I bet he already decided where he wants to do his internship. My guess is that he's off turning in his forms right now." Izuku reassured her. It wasn't all that hard a guess to make, Iida was one of the more prompt and decisive students in their class. He turned to open the door when he was suddenly met face to face with All Might. There had been less effective jump scares in horror movies.

"Gah!" he cried in alarm as he jumped back.

"I AM HERE IN A BIZARRE POSITION!" All Might declared with a confident laugh, and in a bizarre position he was. He was awkwardly bent over with his arms weirdly pulled up to his chest and his rear end sticking up in the air so that he could meet Izuku at eye level.

"Um…" Izuku said, recovering from his surprise, "Yeah, what's that about? And why are you in such a hurry?" he asked.

"Hi, come with me for a sec," All Might said, not really answering him.

"Uh, sure. Okay," Izuku responded sort of confused by his behavior. If he didn't know any better he would say that he was stressed or even nervous. He followed All Might out into the hallway which was fairly empty now that all the students had gone home for the day. It was somewhat dark as the sun was now low in the sky and a soft golden light was illuminating the hallway through the various windows that spanned the walls.

"I'll get straight to the point," he began, not yet turning around to face him "You've received an offer from a hero who'd like to take you on."

"Wait, seriously!? Who?" Izuku gasped, unsure whether or not he had misheard him. After showing how terrible he was at controlling his quirk at the sports festival he was surprised that someone had decided that they wanted to train him.

"Yes, the hero's name is Gran Torino," All Might turned his head to face him and Izuku could see that it was uncharacteristically dripping with sweat, "He taught at this school back in my day, but only for one year," he got a little bit more tense as he spoke, "In fact, he was my homeroom teacher." Izuku gasped and he couldn't help but smile, "He knows about One for All as well," Izuku felt his entire body go as rigid as All Might's and he felt sweat forming on his brow as his cheeks went red, "Actually, I suspect that's the reason he asked for you."

"This guy sounds totally awesome," Izuku exclaimed, barely able to keep himself together. Then he paused, "Wait, so he knows how your quirk works too? But how?" he asked.

"Gran Torino was the sworn friend of my predecessor. He retired a long time ago so I forgot to count him among the people who know," All Might explained. He then began to tremble, his shoulders hunched slightly as a nervous aura began to emanate from him. "Is this because I wrote about you in the letter I sent him?" he muttered to himself, his voice oddly meak, "Or did he watch the festival and think that my teaching was inadequate? He went so far as to use his old hero name when making the offer… It's scary. Too scary!" He began slapping his legs, "Dammit legs! Stop shaking!" Izuku watched in horrified fascination as the world's number one hero trembled like a frightened child before him. _All Might is seriously freaking out right now! _He thought to himself as he questioned whether or not he too should begin to lose it as well. Considering the man before him could likely punch through a mountain with relative ease, it wasn't an unreasonable response.

"Gaaahh… Anyway, it is my duty to train you, but since you got an offer you should work with him this week if that's what your heart says," he continued but by now even his voice was shaking, "Anyway h-h-here's the-the-the-the address," he said handing Izuku, who was now seriously freaking out as well, a piece of paper with Gran Torino's information. _Just how scary is this guy!?_ Izuku wondered as he took it. He was now beginning to dread his weekend of internship, maybe he should invest in a life insurance policy in case things went south. Given All Might's behavior, it seemed to be a wise move.

* * *

Luffy woke up in the alley where he supposed he had passed out some time ago on his way back to his spot under the bridge. He had stopped to lean back against one of the buildings and catch his breath, but he had accidentally fallen asleep. It was starting to get dark out, and he should probably start making his way back. He was feeling a bit dizzy but that had never really stopped him before, he just needed to power through it as usual. He was used to getting injured like this and to be honest this wasn't even that big a deal compared to the injuries he had sustained just a few weeks ago...or was it months? He had no idea how much time had passed during his stay here. If he wasn't naturally such an optimistic guy he might've given up all hope of getting home, but giving up wasn't in his vocabulary so still he persevered on even though he hadn't even remotely found anything that could help him. At most he was just surviving, which given the bullet hole in his chest, he wasn't doing great at either. He needed medical treatment. Back at home, he was often supplied that right away but now he was lost in this strange city with no friends and no clue what to do. He considered going to a hospital but that would require money and he didn't have any. At least not enough to purchase treatment, he could get a candy bar at a vending machine at most. Or that's what he guessed, the currency was weird and not at all what he was used to. What was up with this place that they couldn't even get money right?

"I miss Chopper," he said mournfully, he would know what to do. Chopper was always there to clean up Luffy's wounds and make him feel better, and sometimes if he didn't fidget, Chopper would give him some of his candy as a reward. And then they would get into tickle wars and then they would join Usopp in pranking somebody...or they would just prank Usopp. And then they would somehow upset Nami and she would scold them while Robin laughed. And Zoro would yell at him for touching his weights which would cause Sanji to yell at Zoro for existing...and then Brook would tell a lame joke and 'Yo ho ho' as he got inspiration for a new song that Franky would dance to. Jinbe hadn't been with them for very long but Luffy was sure that the look on his face from all their hi-jinx would be enough to send him into a laughing fit that would last at least several minutes. Luffy felt his eyes begin to water slightly and he quickly rubbed at them. It was very lonely here. He hated being alone, and just when he had been making friends with Natsuki those dumb bastards had come in and ruined everything.

He put his hand up to the wound to stop the bleeding, he tried to think of what Chopper would do. He had a little stethoscope that he would use to listen to his heartbeat, and then he'd say some numbers. No that was just during check-ups. If Luffy lost a lot of blood, he would stick a needle in his arm and give him a transfusion. But he didn't have any of that. If he was in a lot of pain he would give him a shot of something weird and everything would go all warm and melt-y. It was useless, even if he could remember what Chopper did, he didn't know how to do it himself and furthermore he didn't have any supplies. He supposed he would just have to do what he did when he was little and wing it. The only thing he did have were his clothes, he sighed, those would have to do.

He took off his All Might brand T-shirt, which by now was thoroughly soaked in the front, and began tearing it into little strips. He discarded the pieces that seemed a bit too damp and began doing his best to wrap the fabric around his torso as a makeshift bandage. It wouldn't hold for long and he'd have to change it soon but it was better than nothing he supposed. He got to his feet and began walking down the alley. He would have to steal a new shirt soon, apparently it wasn't normal around these parts for people to walk around gravely injured. Furthermore the cops were looking for him and these wounds made him stand out too much.

"Get 'im" he heard a voice whisper. He turned around just in time to see two men with knives jumping at him. Why was he such a magnet for trouble? No matter where he went people seemed to be out to get him. It was getting a bit frustrating. This time he didn't even bother to dodge or fight, he simply glared at them. The two men froze and stopped in their tracks.

"Maybe...maybe not…" the man on the left said, the man on the right looked like he was about to agree but then stopped himself.

"He's literally bleeding out, Kyo," he said, though he looked just as hesitant, "Let's just kill him now, nobody will miss a street rat like him!"

"Y-you're right, Akira!" Kyo answered shaking himself out of the sudden terror. He raised his knife and ran at Luffy once more, "You're dead!" he shouted and swung his knife to slice Luffy's stomach open. Luffy gracefully sidestepped it which threw him off. He swung again, and again, but each time Luffy just stepped out the way of the blade. Akira joined in, the two men attacked again and again but failed to get even a single scratch on him.

"Sit still and die you little brat!" Akira shouted stabbing his knife right at Luffy's face, he simply bent backward and let the knife pass over his head. Trying to take advantage of his awkward position, Kyo swung at his legs.

"Down low," Luffy mumbled to himself before easily jumping over the attack. He was still bent back but he surprisingly kept his balance despite this.

"What the hell is with this kid! It's like he can see what we're going to do before we do it!" Kyo commented in alarm.

"Is it a quirk?!" Akira asked. Before they could dwell on it anymore Luffy stood back up and once more they could see his eyes. It was then that they realized they had made a mistake. They were hard and cold and held no mercy. Before they could react, the young man pulled back and swung at Kyo. His fist hit him hard across the face, shattering his jaw and knocking him out in one move. "Hey!" Akira cried in alarm, looking down at his fallen friend, "What the hell did you just-" but before he could finish, Luffy let out a burst of haki that knocked him down before he had a chance to even comprehend what was happening.

"Hey…" a voice called and Luffy turned to see a young man about his age and height, wearing a bizarre hoodie, mask and glasses. Crap, someone else had seen him using his abilities.

"Do you know who that was?" the boy asked and Luffy glanced down at the unconscious men and shrugged shaking his head. Were they famous? They had seemed pretty weak to him, but maybe he had caught them off guard. His haki hadn't indicated anything above average though.

"Those were the infamous Akira and Kyo, they're serial killers!" he exclaimed, Luffy just blinked, how did that concern him. "Hey, wait a minute, you're bleeding!" the man said, finally noticing in the dim lighting. He stepped forward to help him but Luffy just turned and ran. The man seemed nice enough but if this guy reported him to the cops for using his abilities or just to report that these criminals had been taken out then they would probably take him back to the station and that would not be ideal. "Hey! Wait come back!" he heard him call out but he didn't stop until he had gotten himself lost several blocks away. He was feeling rather winded, he seriously needed to take care of his injury or soon he wouldn't be able to move at all.

"These are apartments...right?" he wondered aloud as he looked up at the buildings around him. Maybe he would find something of use in one of them. He was probably wanted again though, so people probably wouldn't just give him a shirt if he asked. Even if they didn't recognize him they'd just call for an ambulance and he had already decided that that wouldn't be a good idea. He would just have to steal something then. He looked around to see if there were any open windows and to his luck there was a window cracked open on the fourth floor. He smiled slightly and stretched out his arms so that he could pull himself up.

"I hope they have some nice clothes, and maybe some food," he thought as he shot up to the window and pushed it up so that he could climb inside. His hands were covered in blood and he left behind some red hand prints on the glass but he didn't care. They could easily wash that off. He closed his eyes and sensed that the apartment was empty, so he pulled himself in through the window and fell to the floor on his back. He wondered if maybe he had lost more blood than he had previously thought, just that had made him more tired than it really should have. He guessed that since the bullet had hit his chest, closer to vital organs, that maybe it had hit a big blood vessel-or an artery as Chopper told him they were called. He wasn't sure, anatomy wasn't his thing. He got to his feet and looked around, he was in someone's bedroom, and he had already gotten blood all over the carpet. He felt sort of bad about that. He would leave them an apology note.

_Sorry, need shirt and to clean up blood, put on my treasure tab_

-_L_

Luffy wrote on the wall, using his blood, not really feeling like looking for paper. He had begun to sign his name when it occurred to him that might not be the best idea so he just left it as L. He stumbled over to the closet and opened it up to find that there were a bunch of dresses inside. So this was a woman's apartment, oh well, he hoped he could find something suitable to wear anyway. He did his best not to get any blood on the clothes as he searched for something to put on. Finally he found a shirt with a picture of a strange yellow creature on it smoking what looked like a cigarette but not quite. The words on the shirt read "420 Toke-mon" whatever that meant. It would do. He pulled it off the hanger and went to go find a bathroom. Hopefully he could clean himself up. He considered taking a shower but he didn't really know if that would feel good on his chest so instead he opened up the bathroom cabinet.

"Ah!" he cried, a smile forming on his face, "A first aid kit, this is great!" He threw the shirt on the floor and sat on the bathroom counter. He began to remove the makeshift bandages and threw them into the trash. He looked at his chest in the mirror and winced, it looked more gross than he thought it would. He grabbed a towel and used the sink to get it wet before he began to clean the blood off of his chest. It seemed the bleeding had slowed a lot so he didn't need to worry about the blood replacing itself. When most of it was cleaned off, he began to dab gently at the wound itself. It stung a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. It was looking a little red, he sighed that wasn't good. He looked back in the cupboard and found a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide. That was what his Grandpa had used on his cuts after training.

He hissed as he poured a little bit into the wound, it hurt a lot. Hopefully he was doing this right. For all he knew he was making it worse, but all he had were faint (and rather unpleasant) memories to guide him. After putting a little bit of anti-infection cream around the injury, he put some gauze up to it and unrolled the bandages to hold it in place. Finally he secured the wrappings with medical tape. This was the only kind of medicine he was familiar with, he could thank his rough childhood for that. He washed his hands off in the sink and was dismayed to find that he had stained a lot of the counter and the rag as well as the supplies he had used red. He was honestly trying his best to not make a mess, but to be fair he wasn't exactly good at that. He slid the 'toke-mon' T-shirt over his head and looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't feel great but he definitely looked better.

"Damn, I'm starving…" he mumbled to himself and he wandered out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Opening the pantry, he nearly wept with joy. Oh food! He would never take such a sight for granted again. If only he could find some meat. He rummaged around in there but all he could find were some rice crackers and a packet of jerky. The rest of the contents of the pantry were all things that required cooking and that was not exactly his strong suit. He sat down on the counter and began to empty the contents of the bags of food when he heard a screech behind him. He whirled around to see a woman standing at the front door with her small child. They were holding bags of groceries and staring at him wide-eyed. She pulled out her phone and began to dial for the police.

"Sowwy!" he exclaimed with his mouth full. He leapt down from the counter and ran back into the bedroom, leaping out the window and down to the streets below.

* * *

By the time Izuku got home, his mother was already in the kitchen making dinner. He could tell because as soon as he opened the door of their home, the delicious smell hit him like a freight train and his growling stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten lunch that day. He greeted his mother who hugged him tightly and asked about his day at school.

"Let me put my things away and then I'll tell you about it," he said after hugging her back. She smiled and turned back to the pot on the stove.

"Sure thing, sweetie," she replied as he began heading to his bedroom. Once there he set the information All Might had given him about Gran Torino on his desk and placed his book bag down on the floor so that it leaned against the wall. He sighed and ran a hand through his curly green hair, relieved to finally be home after such a busy day.

"So tell me what you did," his mother said, picking right back up on their discussion when he made his way back into the living room. He sat down on the couch and let himself relax.

"We have to choose a hero agency to intern at," he explained as he looked for the remote to the T.V, "A bunch of them sent us offers after the Sports Festival on Sunday"

"You're going to intern with an actual hero? That's amazing Izuku!" she exclaimed, "Have you picked where you want to go yet?" Izuku got off the couch and began rummaging in the cushions, wondering if maybe the darn thing had fallen through earlier when his mother had been watching T.V or something. How did they always manage to disappear at such inconvenient times?

"Sort of," he answered, finally pulling the remote out of the couch, "I mean, there was really only one offer for me. His name is Gran Torino and he's retired but he wants to train me so I guess that's where I'll be going," there was a short pause as his mother thought over what he had said.

"Gran Torino? That name doesn't ring any bells, he might be one of the more silent type of heroes like Mr. Aizawa," she finally offered.

"Maybe, All Might said that he used to teach at U.A and that he even had him for homeroom, though he was kind of scared of the guy,"

"All Might's teacher!?" Inko exclaimed, her voice a bit shrill as she almost dropped the pan she had been holding. She caught it just in time to avoid spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor. "He must be a truly great hero then!"

"That's what I said too, I'm sort of looking forward to it, even if he turns out to be a very strict teacher," he answered and turned the television on. He began flipping through channels wondering what was on. There were some reruns of old soap operas and a few dramas that he had no interest in watching. He knew that if he started, he might never stop and a huge portion of his life would be lost to watching poorly acted and scripted drivel. There were a few challenge shows on and several singing competitions but none of them seemed particularly interesting. He was now flipping through at such a rate that he almost missed seeing Bakugo's face on screen. He paused, his interest caught and let the story on the news channel play.

"_An update on the Coffee shop robbery," _the reporter began, "_former suspect Bakugo Katsuki, the champion of this year's Sports Festival has been cleared of all charges." _Izuku smiled and sighed in relief, the news reports clearing up Bakugo's name were already airing. This was good, it made it less likely that it would tarnish his future career or reputation, "_It seems he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and his eye-witness account has helped police determine what happened, but the investigation is still ongoing." _Izuku frowned, if the criminals had been apprehended, why was there any need for further investigation.

"_Early this morning, two armed men attempted a robbery in the Kitsune Coffee shop which at the time was occupied by two people. Tanaka Natsuki the barista and owner and a teenage boy by the name of Luffy, were held at gunpoint as the criminals demanded they give up all the money in the register. According to Ms. Tanaka, Luffy attempted to stop the robbers by tackling one of them to the ground, there was a struggle and it unfortunately ended with Luffy being shot twice in the chest and stomach. The man who shot him, Eiichiro Kota, is believed to have used an armament quirk to increase damage from the shots." _Izuku frowned, he was glad that Bakugo had been cleared. They might not be friends, quite the opposite in fact, but from what he was hearing the situation sounded bad. Robbery and murder were no small crimes.

"He was shot? Poor boy," his mother said as she sat down on the couch next to him, handing him a small bowl of curry. He gladly took it and began scarfing it down, he had nearly forgotten how hungry he was.

"Thanks mom," he said, his mouth slightly full, "It really is a shame, he was just trying to help," he said in response to her comment. She shook her head sadly.

"That's what happens when you try to do hero's work without training, though his heart was in the right place," she sighed, "I wonder how his parents are doing, they must be devastated," Izuku nodded and turned his attention back to the T.V. He supposed being a parent was a stressful thing, no wonder his mother seemed so anxious all the time. He felt a bit guilty about that, and he leaned over and hugged her gently. She smiled and hugged him back.

"_The story however takes a turn when, according to Tanaka, an unknown party uses some sort of psychokinetic quirk to knock everyone on the scene unconscious," _Izuku's eyes widened a bit, a psychokinetic quirk? "_The quirk was able to telekinetically affect the environment as well as render those in the vicinity unconscious, it furthermore took out the cameras and other electronic equipment. The police have been able to restore some of the footage and have released it to the press, warning what you are about to see may be violent. Viewer discretion is advised," _The screen changed so that it showed the counter of a Coffee shop, a young man was sitting at the counter and talking to the barista, an empty plate in front of him. Izuku watched as two armed men appeared on screen and struck the boy from behind, knocking him to the ground. The woman appeared to scream and dropped what she was holding to the ground. There appeared to be some discussion as one of the men waved a gun around.

"Izuku, if this ever happens to you, I don't want you to get involved. Understand?" his mother said, Izuku nodded but only halfheartedly. He wasn't sure if he could just ignore something like this. They watched as suddenly the boy leapt up and knocked the armed man to the ground and pinned him there. The other man pulled out a gun as well and aimed it at the boy in warning, there was a pause and suddenly he leapt at the second man. Izuku winced as he saw the boy get shot twice and fall to his knees. His mother gripped his hand and squeezed it, no doubt worrying that the same thing could happen to him some day. He squeezed back to reassure her that he would be fine. The woman behind the counter reached for the register when suddenly the feed began to grow static-y and cut out. The last thing he saw before the video ended were the people within the room beginning to collapse but it cut out before any of them hit the floor.

"_This development has baffled police and there are several theories. One possibility is that there was a vigilante nearby, the other is that the boy Luffy himself used this ability. Nonetheless, Luffy was no longer at the scene of the crime when investigators arrived. Bakugo claims that he ran into him as he was passing by the coffee shop and that he ran off just as police were arriving. It is believed that after the attack, Luffy woke up first and at seeing the others unconscious, panicked and ran. His current whereabouts and status are unknown and he is believed to be most likely dead, but officials are still hoping they might find him alive and get him the treatment he needs. We have compiled a rough sketch of Luffy, but aside from his name, his identity and background are mostly unknown." _A police sketch of Luffy appeared on screen next to the reporter, "_He is described as boy in his late teens with average height and a lean build, he is Latino with tan skin, dark hair and brown eyes and a small crescent scar under his left eye, if you see this man contact the authorities right away." _

"It's weird that they can't find him, wouldn't he just go home to his parents or to a hospital?" Izuku pointed out, _unless he died before he could get there… _he thought.

"I don't understand why he wouldn't just wait for the police or a hero to show up," Inko said as the news switched over to a happier story about a fire rescue that had no casualties. Izuku shrugged.

"I can understand him standing up to the robbers but I don't know why he decided to run. The police could have gotten him help, they might have gotten him to the hospital in time if he'd just stayed put. Maybe the blood loss affected his thinking or something," Izuku offered and his mother just shook her head.

"I don't understand it one bit," she said, "here let me take your dishes, you should get working on your homework, it's getting late," she said getting up and taking his bowl. He nodded and turned down the T.V, letting it play quietly in the background as he got up to head to his room. He didn't have much homework as the teachers wanted to give them time to think over their choice for internship. He was grateful for that as it meant he could get to bed early tonight and he was feeling exhausted.

* * *

It was pouring again. As the day had gone on the sky had cleared up a bit but now that night had fallen the rain seemed to return with a vengeance. Luffy pulled the hood of the hoodie up over his head as he walked down the street, he had found it discarded in a dumpster in the alley outside of the apartment he had technically robbed. It only had a few holes in it and it smelled relatively ok, it was better than nothing anyway. It wasn't really helping to keep him dry but at least it shielded him somewhat from the wind. It wasn't particularly cold but with the sun gone and the pouring rain it was enough to make him shiver slightly. His chest still hurt a lot and even though as mentioned he had been through worse, that didn't exactly make him feel any better. He especially wasn't used to bullet wounds, that was pretty unusual for him. His rubber skin usually made it impossible for bullets to do anything but bounce off of him, they didn't feel great when they did that but at least he normally wasn't left with a hole in his body. This time however he had been and he had no Chopper to stitch him back up.

"_Police are still investigating but now it seems that the missing Luffy was living on the streets without any known family…" _Luffy turned his head at the sound of his name and was surprised to see a sketch of his face plastered on at least twelve screens that were all on display inside the store next to him.

"Dammit," he muttered, he'd been really trying not to make a name for himself here. As it was, he couldn't help but smile. The sketch reminded him of his wanted poster back home and how his bounty had just skyrocketed beyond anything he could have imagined. He couldn't help it, infamy just suited him. He continued down the street, well if people knew about him he could at least do more, he would at least let himself use his haki more frequently.

"Gah!" a sharp pain in his chest caused him to stagger slightly, he must have moved weird. Even though he was no longer losing blood at the same extreme rate as he had been earlier, he was still bleeding. He would have to change his bandages sooner or later or he might get blood on his new shirt. He had to find a way to close up the wound because he was pretty sure that it still being open wasn't great. He looked around, maybe one of these stores had something that could help him. He crossed the street, almost getting hit by a car in doing so and heard someone yelling at him angrily. He ignored them and entered the store on the corner of the street.

The lighting was gross and hurt his eyes a bit, and the store itself smelled a bit like soap as if someone had just finished mopping. He began walking down a few aisles, searching each of them for something that could help. There were only a few other people in the store, most were picking up last minute groceries while others seemed to be buying odds and ends such as batteries and magazines. He finally found what he was looking for in the last aisle. It was filled with different types of medicines, disinfectants and bandages. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and began to take bottles of medicine and bandages off the shelf one at a time and stuffed them down his shirt. He wasn't sure exactly what he needed so he'd take whatever he could get his hands on. He was certain that he didn't have enough money but if he just strolled out very casually nobody would notice, right?

"Sir, you're going to have to pay for that," a voice said from behind him. He turned to see the store manager standing behind him and a concerned woman standing to his left. He glared at her, what a snitch. He had to admit though that he hadn't done a good job at remaining unsuspicious, what with wearing tattered filthy clothes with his hood up obscuring his face and the unreasonable amounts of medicine he was hastily shoving down his front.

"Uh…." Luffy began, rummaging in his pockets, struggling to keep the goods he had stolen from falling out of the front of his hoodie. He pulled out several hundred yen and a candy bar. He offered it up to the man who stared down at it unimpressed. His hood hung low over his eyes so he couldn't see him very well but he offered him a big grin hoping that he might persuade the man to let it slide.

"Yeah… I'm going to have to ask you to leave, otherwise I'm calling the cops," the man said, gesturing for Luffy to put all of the things in his shirt back on the shelf. Luffy just sighed, this was already the third time this day he was going to have to use his haki. He didn't bother responding to the man, he just unleashed the conqueror's haki into the air around him, causing everyone within the store to pass out. When that was over he turned around and casually exited the building, the bridge where he stayed wasn't far from here. He stepped out into the street and began jogging through the crowds, taking shortcuts through alleys and shops to get back to his temporary home.

By the time he got back to his space under the bridge, the rain had petered out to small drizzle but he was already thoroughly soaked. He sat down, taking off the hoodie and letting all the things he had stolen tumble out onto the grass. He began wringing out the hoodie to the best of his ability and he managed to dry it out somewhat but it was still damp when he put it back on. He began going through the things he had just stolen. There were a few mild antibiotics, some cough syrup, allergy relief medications...none of these were helpful.

"Ibuprofen…" he read on the side of one bottle, "Pain relief medication…" he smiled, good his chest was pretty sore. Maybe this could help alleviate some of his discomfort. He had also managed to grab several tubes of anti-infection cream, some bandages and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. He opened the bottle of Ibuprofen and popped one of the tablets into his mouth, it didn't really taste like anything but he supposed that didn't matter as long as it worked. He was hoping that the effect would be instantaneous like Chopper's medicine, but after waiting several moments nothing seemed to be happening. He would just have to be patient then, he frowned, patience wasn't one of his strong suits.

He laid down against the damp earth beneath him and curled into a ball. He was so tired now, he just wanted to sleep. He shivered a bit as the wind had yet to die down. He remembered he had left his only blanket back at the coffee shop, Natsuki and put it in the dryer to dry it out from the rain that previous morning. He pulled his knees up under his hoodie so that his exposed legs could receive some warmth. This was going to be a long sleepless night, wasn't it.

* * *

**So far so good I think. Poor Luffy has to stay out in the cold tonight but I don't think he minds too much. The character Luffy met in the alley when fighting the serial killers is from a spin off manga called Vigilantes. I haven't read it yet but I figured it would be neat if one of the characters made a small cameo considering it takes place in the same world as BNHA. Luffy is a fun character to write for even if he can be a bit difficult as well. I have seen a lot of writers on this site and fans in general make him a little too soft hearted, and even though he is a bean, don't forget he is a wanted criminal who has no issues with killing if you get in his way. I know its not normally his policy to kill but don't mistake that for kindness, according to Oda, Luffy enjoys crushing his enemies dreams and keeping them alive with the knowledge that they were defeated and that living with that destroyed pride is a fate worse than death to pirates. Also don't forget all the people he uses as human shields or knocks off cliffs or shoves into boiling rivers of blood during combat, I don't think they survive. Anyway as I listed my top BNHA characters, it's only fair I should list my favorite straw-hats.**

**1) Luffy (his smile literally gives me the will to live)**

**2) Robin (beautiful, deadly and also heartbreaking, she deserves all the love)**

**3) Brook (an undead musician who tells skull jokes and called Big Mom 'young lady' after an epic speech, literally the best)**

**Not straw-hats but I love them:**

**1) ACE (ripped out my heart and that will never be forgiven, Oda knows what he did)**

**2) Bon-chan (literally the most loyal human on earth, Okama way...)**

**Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again, I should honestly be studying for finals right now but I've lost control of my life at this point. Anyway, I have the next chapter ready for you all to read if you so desire. **

**1) Feldoran:** **Thanks so much for your comment, that really brightened my day! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! As for what I said about Luffy, I didn't mean exactly that he was a cold blooded killer, rather that if push comes to shove he has shown he is capable of doing so. He _was _involved in the assassination attempt in WCI and had no issue with it conceptually. It's one of the things I love about Luffy, he has a sort of grey morality that people tend to overlook I think. I've seen lots of people simply referring to him as the good guy or a 'hero' when he himself denied the term. Whenever he 'saves the day' he usually isn't actually focused on saving the day but rather on helping his immediate friends and the people he personally cares about. Furthermore they like to make him into someone who would never harm a fly or is more sensitive to violence really when in cannon he beats the ever loving shit out of his enemies on a regular basis. He's a bean to be sure and is a real sweetheart who loves his friends/family, but some people forget that he's also very much a warrior as well. If I could place Luffy on an alignment chart I would say he's either chaotic neutral or chaotic good. Definitely not a sociopath and I don't think he would harm innocent people without cause. He's a nice guy.**

**2) Starlight Witch: Thanks! I'll try to keep updating regularly, I hope you continue to find it enjoyable!**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Catalyst

Stain stood just beyond the doorway to the bar, he examined the two men who had summoned him closely. The more interesting of the two physically seemed to be made of some incorporeal substance that moved and swirled in tendrils of black and indigo. The only features that could tell you that he was indeed a man were his humanoid form, the fine clothing and the two glowing golden eyes staring back at him. The other was a bit less exotic in terms of appearance but he was no less interesting. He had silvery blue hair that fell down to his shoulder in unkempt locks, his clothes were ordinary and oddly casual but his face was obscured by a bizarre hand shaped mask that only revealed two malevolent eyes peering out at him. He considered what they were saying and then smirked.

"Now I get it," he announced, "You must be the ones who attacked U.A, and you wanna recruit me to build up your little group again."

"Yeah," the blue haired man, Shigaraki, responded, his voice sounding raspy and dry as though he hadn't spoken in years, "It'll be great, you've got so much experience," Stain didn't miss the slight hint of mockery in his tone as he spoke but he chose to ignore it.

"And what's your mission?" he wasn't about to sign on to join a cause he didn't understand.

"For now?" Shigaraki said, "I just really want to kill All Might. I like to destroy anything that pisses me off," he held up a picture of a student from the U.A, a cheery looking boy with freckles and green hair, "Like this little brat here. Game over". His voice lost the mocking tone and became a bit darker as it was clear just thinking about it was enough to get his blood boiling. Stain's ever present glare deepened slightly at his words. This man was nothing but a spoiled child, playing heroes and villains as though it were nothing but a game, he was useless to him.

"I was a fool to think you could offer me anything," he spat, "It turns out you're the type of person I hate most in this world." Both Shigaraki and Kurogiri seemed taken aback by this. "The goals of your 'league' are those of a child. What meaning is there to killing if you don't have real convictions?" he said as he began drawing his weapons.

"The hero killer Stain..." Kurogiri began, "Shigaraki Tomura cares only about wanton violence so we brought this man in to guide him. Perhaps we made a mistake…" he spoke as Stain brandished his blade, he turned to the T.V on the far wall of the bar, "Master, should I step in?" he asked.

"Let it happen," an older man's voice came from the T.V but no face was displayed on screen to match it, "It's possible this is the only way he'll learn anything. He needs to think about the ways he must grow. How he can mature! Only then will he reach his true potential," Stain stood at the ready, his blades prepared to strike down Shigaraki at any moment, the voice beyond the screen intrigued him but he had no further interest in an organization headed by such a brat. Without warning he charged. He drove his right blade towards Kurogiri and managed to slice a gash into his upper shoulder. He quickly licked the blade and ensured that Kurogiri could no longer move. His quirk could be limited, however with surprise and speed on his side he could get the jump on most. He then launched himself at Shigaraki who had no time to respond. He drove his left knife through his shoulder and pinned him to the hardwood floor of the bar.

"So you want me to be a part of your crumbling little league, but you won't accomplish anything if you don't have conviction and desire. Without those, you'll always be an aimless weakling. Achieving nothing. That's how you got here," he boasted as he ensured that Shigaraki could no longer move an inch. He was breathing heavily and the look in his eyes was filled with hate.

"Hey now, you're being a little rough now aren't you," despite being completely at Stain's mercy, Shigaraki still managed to remain arrogant and condescending, "Kurogiri, take this guy back."

"I'm sorry," Kurogiri grunted as though he were under great strain, "I can't move, it must be the Hero Killer's quirk at work",

"The word hero has lost all meaning in this society," Stain explained, still pinning Shigaraki to the floor, "The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams," he spat, unable to restrain his disdain for the men he was in the company of, "They must all be purged". He drew the blade closer to Shigaraki's neck when his hand suddenly reached up and caught the knife.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, "If you touch this palm…" the blade began to rust and crack around where his hand gripped it, "I'll kill you," his voice was ice cold. Stain was taken aback by this, he hadn't been expecting him to have such a formidable quirk, especially one that could render him useless so quickly.

"You sure talk a lot, 'Hero Killer'" Shigaraki's voice was dripping with contempt, "Conviction? Maybe I don't have anything as loaded as that," the blade crumbled to dust in his grip, "If I had to choose a desire though...Yeah, it'd be killing All Might. If the world wants to worship trash like him, I'll destroy their beloved symbol of peace and then crush them while they're in shock," as Shigaraki spoke, there was a manic look in his eye and a malevolent smile could be seen beyond his mask. It was then that Stain could feel it. While he was distracted, Shigaraki made a mad swipe for his face with his palm. He dodged it just in time, leaping backwards to the front of the room.

"The last of my injuries was finally about to finish healing, and now this," Shigaraki commented as though this was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. "You should learn not to play with knives, we don't have a healer in our party you know," he began frantically scratching at his neck as he spoke, a nervous tick of some sort Stain suspected.

"I see your nature," Stain stated, "It seems our goals fundamentally oppose each other. However, this wasn't in vain. We agree that we need to destroy the present." Shigaraki just sighed in response.

"I'm over this. Leave, drop dead. I'm the kind of person you hate most right?" He truly was a child.

"I was testing your motive," Stain explained so that the half wit would understand, "People always show their true colors when on the verge of death," he sheathed his blade and stood down from his battle stance, "It's abnormal, but there is desire, a warped sprout of conviction within you. How will it bloom in the end, I wonder. Maybe I'll let you grow, if you don't turn out well I'll come take care of you later." Shigaraki's eyes flashed at that.

"You think you can get rid of me?" he asked, he almost sounded offended, his pride wounded. Kurogiri finally shifted and moved his arm in astonishment.

"I'm free," he said with realization.

"Kurogiri," Shigaraki said calmly, "Someone as crazy as this would be nothing but a problem for the League of Villains"

"Please reconsider," Kurogiri urged, looking at Shigaraki imploringly "This man will be a great asset if he joins us, I'd say this was a success"

"My business here is done," Stain said, "Now you will return me to Hosu," he licked his lips in anticipation at what was to be done, "There are still several false heroes I must attend to there".

* * *

The train ride to Gran Torino's was shorter than Izuku hoped it would have been. This was a man that even All Might was afraid of and had taught at U.A for a year. He had to be an amazing hero, beyond anyone he had met so far aside from All Might. He wasn't sure he was ready to meet such a man, he hadn't had time to compose himself enough for this. He stopped in front of an average sized building, but it was oddly run down and dilapidated. He went over the note in his hand, double checking to make sure he had the right address. There was no mistaking it, this was the place. He gulped, reached forward and knocked on the two large wooden doors. After a second, he pushed the door open and poked his head inside the dark building.

"Hello, I'm here from U.A High," he said as he looked around, "It's Midoriya Izuku, I'm really looking forward to-" he froze when he saw the blood. There was so much of it, and lying in the center of the large red puddle was the form of an unconscious man. He screamed in horror.

"HOLY WOAH! HE'S DEAD!" he shrieked his voice shrill with terror.

"I'm alive," the man said lifting up his head with a pleasant smile as though there was nothing wrong with this scene. Izuku couldn't help but scream again in surprise yet again.

"HE'S ALIVE!" he screeched before taking a deep breath and sighing with relief.

"Oh whoopsy," the old man said getting to his feet, "I was carrying a nice big plate of sausages covered in ketchup when I accidentally tripped and fell down, clumsy me" he explained as he brushed himself off. Izuku looked him over as he spoke, getting his first real good look at him. He was wearing a golden hero outfit but was using a cane which he leant on shakily. _Okay, that's a little weird_, he thought to himself as he examined the old man.

"Now who did you say you were?" the old man asked. Izuku straightened his posture and recited what he had just said. This had to be Gran Torino right?

"I'm Midoriya Izuku, from U.A High School!"

"You're who, now?" the old man asked again, cupping his hand around his ear so that he could hear better.

"I'm Midoriya Izuku!" he exclaimed a little louder. There was a pause as the old man just stared at him. The same smile plastered on his face.

"So what's your name, boy?" he asked. _Oh great!_ Izuku thought to himself. _He was All Might's teacher so I knew he had to be pretty old, but I didn't expect him to be bonkers! _Just as he finished that thought, Gran Torino sat down heavily, so hard in fact that he might as well have fallen down. Izuku gasped, worried that he might have injured himself. He reached out like he was going to catch him even though it was far too late.

"I could really use some food," Gran Torino stated bluntly.

"Some food!?" Izuku exclaimed, slightly indignant.

"Toshinori?" Gran Torino asked, clearly confused. Izuku frowned.

"Midoriya," he corrected, he sighed, "heh...excuse me," he said reaching into his shirt pocket to find his phone, "I just need to make a phone call" He pulled his phone out and stepped outside for a moment. He figured he should probably call All Might and tell him that his old teacher had gone a bit senile and was no longer in any state to teach. He glanced over his shoulder and gasped when he saw that Gran Torino had opened up his briefcase and was no rummaging through it.

"Hey, uh, wait! That's my stuff!" he exclaimed frantically, not quite sure what to do. He didn't want to have to directly intervene with someone not in full control of their mental faculties.

"Why don't you fire off a One for All smash at me?" Gran Torino said as he continued going through the briefcase.

"Huh?" Izuku murmured, taken aback by the man's sudden clarity.

"I wanna know how far you've come in terms of handling its power," he said, all traces of his previous senility gone. _Is this even the same guy as before?_ Izuku wondered to himself, stunned by this shift in personality. "This is a pretty good costume, now where's that attack?"

"But sir..." Izuku protested, not prepared to hit a defenseless old man with the full force of One for All.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Gran Torino said, readopting his confused persona. _What the heck is with this guy! _Izuku mentally exclaimed, staring down at the old man in shock. He sighed and recomposed himself.

"I'm here because I need to learn how to control One for All. I have to get so much better at it, and fast," he clenched his fists, emotion rising within him, "I'm also here because I don't know if All Might has much time left. I'm sorry, but I can't waste my whole week messing around like this sir. I hope you'll excuse me," he bowed and turned to leave. He couldn't train with someone who wasn't going to take him seriously.

"As I thought," he heard Gran Torino say behind him, he paused to look back at him. He watched in surprise as the man suddenly leapt into the air and bounced off of the ceiling. He proceeded to bounce around the room until he began charging towards Izuku and landed on the wall above him. The old man gave him a wicked grin, "It's time to show me what you can do, ya newbie heh heh heh!" he chuckled mischievously. Izuku swallowed, maybe he had underestimated the old man.

* * *

Luffy looked down at his chest. The bullet wound he had been treating for several days now was not getting any better. Granted, it wasn't getting any worse but it definitely wasn't improving either. The damn thing bled on and off, sometimes he could wait an entire day before the bandages bled through, other times only a couple hours would pass. He kept taking the Ibuprofen but it's assistance in relieving his pain was limited and he was only feeling worse. Chopper had once told him that one of the worst things that could happen with an open wound was the risk on infection. The wound on his chest didn't look infected, or at least he didn't think so, but it definitely didn't look great.

"Ahh! Tsssss!" He cried out as he applied more of the hydrogen peroxide to the injury. He didn't know how often he was supposed to do this, or if he was even supposed to do this at all given how much it hurt. He applied more disinfectant and bandaged it once more. This really wasn't good, the wound wasn't healing on it's own. He wasn't sure how to do stitches but there was one other method he knew of that might do the trick but he was really hesitant to try it. It was something his brother had done to seal his own wounds when they had gotten stranded from camp one summer. It had been painful to watch but it had been effective and it had even saved his brother's life. It had been several days since he had been shot which meant he was several days past the time he should have done this. He had been really putting it off hoping that he would wake up one morning to find his wounds magically healed.

"This really gonna hurt," he mumbled to himself, new resolve building within him. He stood up and began scavenging the river bank for the necessary items for his plan. It took him nearly two hours but finally he had created the perfect fire pit. He had been a skilled camper back in the day so he accomplished this task easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. He had even found the broken end of a fire poker in one of the dumpsters. It was all working out, now all he had to do was light the fire. It took him several tries with the damp-ish wood he had found, but he finally he managed to get a small blaze going. He stared at it for a few moments in apprehension before finally gritting his teeth and determining he do this.

"Now for the scary part," he announced, removing the bandages from around his chest and once more exposing his injury to the open air. It had begun bleeding again, but that was alright, if his plan succeeded he wouldn't be bleeding for much longer. He stuck the piece of metal into the fire and waited for several long moments, biting his lip in anticipation. Finally after what felt like hours but was most likely only ten minutes or so, the twisted piece of scrap metal was glowing nearly white hot. He took a deep breath and with his free hand pinched the skin around the wound together so that the hole itself would close. This by itself hurt and it was a bit difficult given that his skin was a bit slick with his own blood. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the pain.

"Mmrrgggaaahh!" He softly cried out as he pressed the searing hot metal against the skin around his wound. He could feel his rubber flesh beginning to bubble and melt together and an awful smell filled the air. Finally he pulled the metal away from his body and and dropped it to the damp grass, grabbing his chest in agony. He hated this sensation, he had been burned once, the massive scar across his chest there to serve as a painful reminder of that day. He might not have been fully conscious at the time and the doctor had said he had been beyond pain as they performed the life saving surgery that brought him back from the brink of death, but they were wrong. He had felt all of it, every last agonizing second as he lay there on the operating table, the magma burning deeper and deeper until it scorched even his lungs and had nearly reached his heart. And though that pain was nothing compared to the agony his mind was in, it had still been excruciating.

"It's done, it's done, it's done, it's done…" he repeated to himself over and over as he collapsed back against his newly stolen blanket. This burn had been nothing in comparison to that, but the sensation of his skin melting and the scent of burning rubber brought back that day two years ago as if it had been happening in real time. Maybe if he had been locked in combat too busy surviving to notice, or with his friends back on the Sunny, those dark memories could've been pushed out of his mind. But now that he was alone, had been alone for several months in a strange world he didn't understand… it was different.

"Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbe…" he whispered to himself, and then he whispered it again and then again. He still had his friends, they were still there and they were waiting for him to get back. No matter how long it took. He sighed as the dark thoughts began to disappear from his mind. He sat back up and looked back down at his now cauterized wound. It stung a lot but he could handle that. He reset his bandages and sighed with relief now that the process was over with. He leapt to his feet and plastered his usual bright smile back on his lips, sometimes even when life sucked it was best to just grin and bear it. He encouraged himself to look on the bright side, it was almost lunch time and he was feeling hungry.

"FOOD TIME!" he cheered, back to his usual bubbly self. He laughed and began making his way to find the dumpster behind some restaurant, today he would stuff himself silly.

* * *

"On a normal day, I'd just be waiting for client calls to come in. Not really exciting, but things have been fairly hectic here lately," the pro hero Manual explained as they walked down the street. Iida followed close behind, but he wasn't really listening. His mind was elsewhere at the moment. Despite the hero's garb he was currently wearing, a lightweight metal suit designed to protect his body as he raced around at insane speeds, he had to admit that his heart wasn't really in it right now. The world seemed to be blurred and distant in his mind as it focused on one sole target.

"So you're using street patrols to suppress crime?" he asked trying to engage in his internship more. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity he might as well try to get something out of it.

"Yeah, exactly!" Manual said, then he paused shaking his head slightly as if in disbelief, "Man, I kinda can't believe Ingenium's little brother is interning at my agency," he waved to bystanders on the street who recognized him as a hero, "I'm sure you had offers from pros with much bigger followings than mine." Iida looked away. He felt a bit guilty, he had not chosen Manual for his skill or training, he had a much more personal reason in mind. His thoughts drifted to Stain, the man who had critically injured his older brother. It was unfair that such a monster could get away with doing this, that nobody was trying harder to stop him. He knew that it was unlikely that he would actually be able to do anything, he still felt that he owed it to his brother to try. No matter what happened, he could never forgive the man for what he'd done. He would track him down and make him regret ever touching his family.

* * *

**So that cauterization scene ended up being a bit sadder than I had originally intended it to be but I think the effects of being separated from his crew for so long are starting to negatively impact Luffy's mental/emotional health. At least on Ruiskaina he knew that he would reunite with them eventually but in this case he has no idea how he ended up here in the first place, let alone how to get back. Shigaraki is a character that at first I disliked due to his immaturity but writing for him has actually made me grow to like him more and I don't know why. Also he's only 20, I originally thought he was in his 30's but he's only a year older than me which caught me off guard and also changed how I see him as well, he's pretty young. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! **


	6. Chapter 6

**So starting with this chapter I think we are going to see the story lines finally starting to converge a bit more. One of my favorite things about crossovers is seeing how the characters would interact with one another so this was really fun to write. I hope you enjoy, feel free to review if you have anything to say and if not that's fine as well!**

**1) NoLife. mp3: Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far! I'll try and keep updating as quickly as possible!**

**2) Starlight Witch: Thanks, the reason I am uploading these couple of chapters so quickly is because I have up to 14 chapters pre-written. That and I'm procrastinating studying for finals and general schoolwork. Unfortunately the updates will slow down a bit once I catch up to where I am in the story. I'll try to write as quickly as possible once I reach that point. As for your questions, Luffy assumed the bullets were normal so he felt there would be no need to use haki in that instance as he assumed they would just bounce off like usual, he wasn't aware that the man had a quirk that would actually pierce his skin. In this case it was honestly just a bit of cockiness that bit him in the ass. As for his age, he is still 19 as he is in the series, he just looks really young so most people assume he's younger than he is and assume he's more like 16 or 17. Also when some people refer to someone as kid they can just mean someone who is significantly younger than them. Older adults tend to refer to college age students as kids simply because they are still transitioning into adult life and are often still dependent on parents and have a tendency to act immaturely. This is definitely a post TS Luffy, he entered this world just after the events on WCI. I hope that cleared up some confusion. Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Encounter

Izuku stared down at the sleeping form of Gran Torino in disbelief. This had been their first day of training and all that he had done is test him once, offer some cryptic advise, leave him alone to clean up his house and then pass out the instant he got home. Say what you want about the man but he was certainly odd. Izuku had even tried looking him up online but found practically nothing, despite this he had been a teacher at U.A High for a year and seemed to leave All Might shaking in his boots. He grabbed his things and exited the rundown building. As he walked down the street he thought about what Gran Torino had told him about his quirk, how his attachment and idolization of All Might was slowing his progress. He had to change the way he thought about One for All, after all it was a part of him now. _My classmates use their quirks as if it's completely natural, but I still think of mine as something I have to call upon, _he thought to himself, _If I could use even five percent of my power like it was nothing, I would be able to move like Ka-chan. _

He turned to the alley he was passing. He was still wearing his hero outfit, and the surrounding area was completely empty. It was dark out and most people were probably home by now anyway. He had to work on mastering his quirk, if he didn't he would be completely useless in battle and there would be no point in him trying to be a hero. He stepped into the alley which was filled with trash bags and litter, this seemed like a good enough spot. Five percent should be enough for his purposes. He looked up at the tall buildings around him and imagined how many leaps it would take to make his way to the top.

"One, two, three, the roof. That shouldn't be too hard, right?" he thought aloud as he mapped out his movements in his head. He crouched down, focusing on how he would do this. "Imagine the egg not exploding in the microwave," he mumbled, mentally picturing the metaphor Gran Torino had used to better explain how to control his power. Struggling to maintain focus and control, he called upon One for All's power, feeling it emerging as a slight tingling in his legs. He let out a small grunt and propelled himself upward, hurtling himself towards the wall of the building. There was an unceremonious thud as he smacked right into the brick wall at full force. He had focused so much on leaping that he hadn't exactly figured out what he was going to do next.

"I was afraid that would happen…" he groaned as he fell back to the earth below. He landed in a pile of the trash bags which cushioned his fall but still didn't feel too great. "I need to brace myself and use my arms to cushion the impact," he stated, figuring out his new plan of action. Easier said than done, he still lay stunned on the trash pile, his nose bleeding slightly. "Which means for the second jump I need to put power in to both my arms and legs. But if I don't do it quickly enough, then I'll end up breaking my bones in the fall! I can't take the time to visualize the result like I normally do but I have to try it." He got to his feet and once again crouched down, channeling One for All's power.

"Gotta put some power in my arms," he told himself as he launched himself upward, he put his arms forward and prepared to make contact with the wall. Once again he face planted into the brick and fell back down to the trash below. Again he tried.

"This time I'll switch faster!" he cried and again he failed. "Faster, stupid! Do it faster!" he chastised himself as he failed yet again. A couple walking by on the street heard the commotion and backed away.

"Is it a villain!?" the woman cried in alarm.

"Let's go! It's not our problem honey!" the man responded and they ran off. Izuku paid them no mind as he yelled at himself to move faster. He tried one last time and this too ended in failure. He paused, laying in the pile of trash bags and breathing heavily. He slammed his fist down in frustration and stood up again, ready to try one more time. He was just about to leap when a male voice startled him and he lost his balance falling flat on his ass.

"Man, you're really not good at this are you?" Izuku sat up and whirled around trying to find the source of the voice. His eyes scanned the dark alley until he finally caught sight of him. He was sitting on a dumpster, somewhat further back in the shadows than where Izuku was sitting. His legs were crossed and he was staring at him with big brown eyes as he worked on eating what looked like a leftover burrito. The boy, who looked to be roughly his age or a few years older then shrugged, "Unless you're trying to crash into the wall, in that case I guess you're just stupid".

"I uh...wha...uh…" Izuku stammered, completely caught off guard by the stranger. He just stared at him unable to form words or even think of anything to say.

"Hmm, I think you hit your head too many times," the boy said taking another bite of the burrito, "Mawybe you awre stuhpid," he said, his words garbled in his full mouth. Izuku shook his head and got to his feet, shaking off his stupor.

"Who are you!? How long have you been sitting there?" he asked his cheeks turning pink at the thought that the stranger had been watching him make an absolute fool of himself. The boy raised an eyebrow and folded his arms as if thinking about it.

"I'm Luffy, and I think I've been sitting here for a few hours, but I don't know, I don't have a clock," he paused for a moment, "or maybe it's only been ten minutes, Nami says I'm bad with time and she's pretty smart so I believe her," he shrugged as if it wasn't important. Izuku just stared at him, he was acting almost as strangely as Gran Torino. Had the man secretly hired him to keep him in line or monitor him or something. Then he paused, Luffy… he had heard that name somewhere before… Luffy took the final bite of his burrito and hopped down off of the dumpster, stepping out of the shadows so that he could get a better look at him. Tan skin, black hair, brown eyes, a scar under his left eye. Izuku's eyes widened, he had definitely seen this guy before.

"You! You're the guy! The one who got shot on T.V!" he exclaimed pointing at him and taking a startled step back. Luffy just blinked, he looked a bit confused.

"Huh? I don't remember getting shot on T.V, I got shot in a coffee shop," he answered bluntly. Izuku stared at him in bewilderment and confusion. Confusion at the odd specification that indicated that Luffy didn't understand how television worked and bewilderment at the fact that he was now talking to a man who was supposed to have been shot dead or missing but here he stood seeming perfectly healthy. Maybe he was just messing with him, he _was_ wearing a bright purple shirt with Pikachu smoking a joint with the words '420 Toke-mon' written across it. He wasn't sure how seriously he should be taking him.

"You're kidding me...right?" Izuku asked, hoping that this man was just a troll. However from what he remembered from the news report several nights ago, he matched the sketch and description perfectly. From the little scar under his eye to the fact that he was indeed Latino. He even spoke with a strange accent that almost sounded like his first language might be English but not quite, like it was a really weird dialect different from American, British or Australian.

"About what?" Luffy asked, seeming lost.

"About being shot!" Izuku exclaimed, this man had the attention span of a small rodent.

"Ohhhhh!" he said very seriously nodding his head, "Nope!" he smiled. Izuku just stared at him. "You're using a quirk right?" Luffy asked changing the subject and startling Izuku out of his thoughts.

"Uh…" he began.

"That's pretty cool, but you know if you get caught doing that you could get in trouble right?" he asked, Izuku nodded. That was common knowledge, even small children knew that. The banning of the use of quirks was critical to their society's function. Luffy shrugged.

"Just making sure you knew that… Hey are you one of those vigilantes?" he asked looked down at Izuku's outfit. Izuku glanced down as he realized he was still wearing his hero outfit and his cheeks went a bit pink.

"N-no not at all!" he stammered, waving his arms trying to clear any misinterpretations, "It's not like that!"

"Oh! Then what is it like?" Luffy asked, cocking his head to the side as though he were a puppy, and folding his arms across his chest. Izuku blushed, he thought he would be over this by now but after years of being told that his dream was stupid and impossible it felt strange to say it out loud still. He brushed some of the dirt off of his outfit and fixed it a bit so that he looked a bit more dignified.

"I'm training to be hero, I'm a student at U.A High School and I'm currently interning with the retired pro-hero Gran Torino-"

"Oh you're a hero," Luffy interrupted him, he was picking at his fingernails absentmindedly and it was clear that he hadn't listened to anything he had said beyond that, "were you in that hero tournament thingy?"

"Oh! Yes I was!" he answered, surprised that Luffy had seen him fighting. He probably shouldn't be, it had been broadcast to all of Japan. He supposed he still wasn't quite used to being famous.

"I thought you looked familiar! You were the guy who kept breaking his fingers like an idiot!" He said enthusiastically, "You should work on that. Who won the fight, you or the ice guy?"

"Uh...the ice guy?" he answered though it came out as more of a question. Luffy kept switching ideas so rapidly that it was hard to follow his train of thought at times. Luffy nodded as though he had expected that answer.

"Figures. Ice guys are pretty strong," he said as though he had some personal experience in fighting against an ice quirk. There was a long pause as the two just stared at each other, Izuku was trying to gather his thoughts as he looked at the smiling boy. This encounter had happened so randomly and he had already had such a bizarre day. "Well, bye then," Luffy said turning to leave, casually putting his arms behind his head and humming to himself as he did so.

"Wait!" Izuku exclaimed causing Luffy to pause and turn to look at him.

"What?" he asked. Izuku hesitated, there were too many thoughts swirling around his mind to focus on one at a time. He had to admit he was still flustered that Luffy had been watching him the entire time he had been training without him even realizing he had been there.

"You're really the guy that got shot?" he asked still not quite sure he believed it. Luffy just frowned.

"Yeah, I told you that didn't I, I got shot. Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard?" he asked as if annoyed that Izuku wasn't letting the subject go. Izuku wasn't sure how he could, getting shot was no small deal. Luffy seemed to notice that Izuku was having difficulty believing him, "Want me to show you?"

"What!?" Izuku exclaimed, he had no desire to see what was potentially a nasty wound. He began to protest but Luffy lifted up his shirt anyway, revealing his torso to be wrapped in clean bandages starting from right below his clavicle to the bottom of his ribcage. The underside of his shirt revealed dark stains where blood from previous bandages had bled through and stained the hidden part of the cloth. He really hadn't been lying. The bandages were sloppily wrapped but they were holding, indicating that it had been Luffy himself who had treated his wounds. He hadn't even gone to the hospital! How Luffy was standing before him perfectly fine baffled him...unless…

"You have to have a healing quirk or something, right?" he asked and Luffy raised an eyebrow. That had to be it, right? How else could he walk away so cleanly from a bullet to the chest and stomach? Then he noticed there was no injury on Luffy's stomach, the bandages only covered his chest. But he had clearly seen him get shot in the abdomen on the tape.

"Quirk…?" he stared at Izuku in confusion for a moment before something dawned on him, he laughed and dropped his shirt, once again concealing the bandages and blood beneath. "No no!" he giggled, "I don't…" he stopped himself and tried again, "I can't heal myself! I'm made of rubber! Bullets don't hurt me, that guy just got lucky cause he had an ammunitions quirk!"

"Rubber…?" Izuku asked, that was an odd quirk. Well, not more so than any of the others he supposed. He wondered what the classification of it would be, mutation maybe? That made the most sense.

"Yeah! See!?" Luffy exclaimed grabbing his cheeks and stretching them way past the normal limits. He stuck out his tongue and let his face snap back into place as he laughed hysterically. Izuku raised his eyebrows slightly, he was used to seeing unusual abilities but there was something about the way his skin could distort that he couldn't help but feel weirded out by. "Bullets and punches just bounce right off me! Go ahead and try, you can even use your quirk!" he announced straightening his posture and putting his hands confidently on his hips and grinning.

"Woah! I can't do that, my quirk's way too powerful and I can't even control it yet!" He exclaimed, then paused before realizing what Luffy had just asked him to do, "And I'm not gonna just punch you!" he said after a minute. Luffy just frowned.

"Eh? Why not?" he sounded genuinely let down, "It's not like you can hurt me," Izuku just stared at him, not really quite sure how to respond to that. Nobody had ever insisted he punch them in the face before. "Whatever," Luffy said after a moment, clearly disappointed. Izuku had never seen someone so eager to be punched before and he was starting to wonder if maybe this guy had a couple screws loose.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Izuku asked changing the subject. Knowing this guy the answer was probably going to be just as weird as anything else he had said so far but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He had to say there was something magnetic about Luffy and he couldn't help but keep drawing himself further into conversation with him.

"Dinner," Luffy said simply, then his eyes lit up, "Hey have you had a burr-it-o before? It's like a surprise, you never know what's in there. Cheese? Meat? Beans? The meat ones are the best!"

"Uh yeah, I've had a burrito before, it's been a while though," Izuku answered, wincing at the weird pronunciation of the word burrito Just as he had predicted, his simple question had led to a conversation he couldn't have expected. He had also never seen someone so excited about burritos either, it was almost as if Luffy had just had some sort of previous world view shattered. "Why? Where did you get a burrito and what does that have to do with being here?"

"I found a secret stash!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You found a secret burrito stash in an alley?" Izuku asked, he swore, the more he spoke with Luffy the more confused he felt. He was starting to find a pattern to his thinking though, maybe he wasn't as crazy as he believed. "Where?" Luffy's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You can't have any, I found them," he said.

"That's fine, I'm not hungry anyway," Izuku explained nervously, he really didn't want to start a fight with a guy who seemed a bit older than him in an alley over burritos. Man what a weird night he was having. "I'm just curious where you would find burritos in a place like this."

"Oh," Luffy said, his carefree demeanor reappearing in an instant, "Okay then, I'll show you. It wasn't that hard to find really, you'd be surprised what people throw away around here." Luffy turned and began walking further into the alley, turning to the area behind the dumpster he had been sitting on. Izuku followed after him, wondering if he really had found a stash.

"Throw away?" he asked as Luffy dragged a giant bag out from behind the dumpster.

"Oh yeah, usually I just find leftovers, like fries or some moldy bread, but this time…" he opened the bag and revealed that it was filled to the brim with untouched burritos, they were all in unopened packages as though they had been taken out from a store without being sold. "I think they were supposed to be frozen but they're melted now, and they are totally delicious, though they're not as good as what Sanji could make…" his smile faltered for a second before reappearing bright as ever. Izuku stared down at the thawed out burritos and then glanced up at Luffy. Realization hitting him like a freight train. He examined the boy again and this time he noticed just how dirty he was, his hair was tangled and a bit greasy like he hadn't washed it in a while and his clothes were a bit wrinkled as though he hadn't changed in several weeks.

"Hey Luffy?" he asked, starting to feel a bit bad for having judged him about eating food he had just found lying around, "Where do you live exactly?"

"Hmm? You mean like my house?" Luffy asked, reaching down into the sack to open up a new packaged burrito. "Don't got one!" he said tearing it open and taking a large bite, "Ohh! This one's spicy!" he exclaimed.

"Then, is this where you sleep?" he asked, looking around at the garbage filled alley, he knew that after falling on them several times that the trash bags weren't all that comfortable. It was probably also filled with rats and bugs.

"Nah," Luffy answered his mouth full.

"Oh, is there a shelter or something you go to then? Or do you have someone you can stay with?" Izuku asked and Luffy just raised an eyebrow.

"I sleep under a bridge that way," he pointed to his right, "Or at least I think it's that way, this city is confusing sometimes. Why?"

"Oh...no reason," Izuku said awkwardly, suddenly feeling guilty about having a home waiting for him with a mother who cooked him warm meals everyday and a nice position at a prestigious High School, "Is that why you didn't go to the hospital, you know, after being shot."

"Oh, yeah, don't have any money," he shrugged, "It's fine, I took care of it," Izuku frowned, that was most definitely not fine. Sometimes, with how advanced their society was, it was easy to forget that there were people who literally couldn't even afford to save their lives if necessary. He was sure that they wouldn't have turned Luffy down if he went seeking emergency treatment, but maybe he knew that he would be put into lifelong debt that he had no hope of ever being able to pay, and he had no one to bail him out. Izuku reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, taking all the yen he could afford to dish out and then some and handing it to Luffy. Luffy just stared at the money, seemingly confused.

"What's that for?" he asked, he probably wasn't used to people just giving him money. Maybe he didn't even realize it was for him given that he hadn't asked for it.

"It's so you can buy dinner or something," Izuku said awkwardly, putting his spare hand behind his head and looking away. Luffy raised an eyebrow and took the money, putting it in his pocket.

"Why?" he sounded genuinely confused but not ungrateful.

"You look like you need help," then he realized how humiliating that would probably be for Luffy and his cheeks went red, "Not that you _need _it need it, but I want to help, you seem nice and I just wanted to do what I can, but if you don't want it that's fine and-" Luffy burst into laughter, catching Izuku off guard. He stopped his rambling and stared at the teen who almost choked on his burrito and coughed before catching his breath.

"You're a funny guy aren't you! I like you, what's your name again?" Luffy said, his voice trembling slightly from mirth.

"Oh um…" he said, startled. He suddenly realized that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "I'm Midoriya Izuku!" He announced.

"Izu huh?" Luffy said finishing the second burrito.

"Actually-"

"We should be friends," he continued, ignoring Izuku's attempt to correct him. Izuku blinked, a bit caught off guard by this declaration. He stared at the strange boy in front of him, he really didn't know anything about him and he had come to the conclusion that he might have some mental health issues, but still he nodded. He wasn't sure when he had decided it, but he rather liked Luffy's company as well. He was strange and certainly hard to follow at times, but at the same time he was entertaining and something about him had grown on him in the short time they had spoken to one another.

"Uh, sure!" Izuku said and Luffy smiled. He grabbed the bag of burritos and hefted it up over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna go to bed now, I'll see you tomorrow then?" he said walking past Izuku and heading towards the entrance of the alley. Izuku turned to watch him leave.

"Yeah, I guess I will," he said and Luffy laughed.

"See ya! Have fun jumping into the wall, or whatever it is you're trying to do!" he called as he turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Izuku stood there stunned for a moment, trying to determine whether or not that had really just happened or if he really had hit his head too hard as Luffy suggested and he had dreamt the whole thing up. He wasn't sure his mind was creative enough to dream up someone as unusual as Luffy though. He smiled, he was an interesting guy. He turned back to the wall he had been trying and failing to bounce off of. No matter, he wasn't finished for the night yet anyway, he still had a lot of work to do before he was ready to meet with Gran Torino again tomorrow. He crouched down and prepared to jump. He flew towards the wall, and unsurprisingly, he failed yet again.

* * *

Shigaraki rewound the tape for the tenth time, rewatching the footage. He wasn't sure what it was but something about the story had caught his attention. It had also caught _his _attention as well, but for a different reason he suspected. After several days the story had died down and the search was almost entirely cut off, but other stories had replaced it. That's what he figured _he _was more interested in. He scratched at his neck in agitation, what was it? Why couldn't he get this out of his mind? He rewound the footage again but still he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Do you concur?" the voice from the monitor on the wall asked, and Shigaraki snapped out of his train of thought.

"Yes, it most likely would… What do you have in mind?" he asked, were they to begin their own investigation into the case in the hopes of persuading that power to their side? Shigaraki wasn't sure if he could put up with any more vigilantes, the last one had been more than infuriating. His scratching intensified as he remembered his encounter earlier that day with the Hero Killer Stain. Who did he think he was to speak to him in that manner, if Shigaraki had wanted to, he could have killed him in an instant. One touch, that's all it would take. Yet the man had spoken to him as though he were above him, as though Shigaraki was the one who should fear him!

"I hypothesize that this is no vigilante," the voice continued as though he hadn't heard Shigaraki's question. If it had been anyone else that might have pissed him off but seeing as it was _him, _he knew he must have good reason to have done so. "Take a look at this clip as well, this is from a smaller news channel," The monitor's screen changed so that it was showing a small shop. Everything seemed to be normal until a hooded figure entered the building, his face obscured by the shadows of his hood. Shigaraki noticed that he was walking strangely, it was something akin to a limp but not so much that it appeared that he had injured his leg. He watched as the figure made his way to the corner of the store where he began to grab things off the shelf and stuff them down the front of his hoodie.

"A shoplifter, what do you find so interesting about this?" Shigaraki inquired but the man shushed him.

"Just watch," he said and Shigaraki silenced himself. He watched as a woman took notice of this and informed the manager. The manager approached the hooded man and they seemed to have some sort of confrontation. There was a pause and then…

"Oh!" Shigaraki said in mild surprise. One by one the people in the room began collapsing, papers began blowing off the shelves and small lightweight objects began to fall over as if knocked down by a particularly strong wind. The camera began to blur as the image went static-y and then the tape cut out all together. "That's what happened in the coffee shop robbery, you think that's the guy?" he asked, thinking it was fairly obvious.

"It's not just the same person, watch carefully," the video rewound and Shigaraki watched as the hooded figure once again entered the shop, "Notice how he's walking?"

"Yes, like he's limping," Shigaraki answered, "But his legs are uncovered, I see no injury".

"Precisely," the video paused as the shoplifter removed something from the shelf, "take a look at what he's stealing," Shigaraki squinted, trying to make it out through the grainy footage. His eyes widened slightly.

"Bandages! So he is hurt…" he said his mind slowly coming to a revelation.

"He is concealing his injury beneath that hooded sweatshirt, meaning it is somewhere on his upper body," the screen switched back to the previous recording, "implying that these two…"

"He was the victim, not a third party…" Shigaraki muttered as he watched the boy stumble back and grab his bleeding chest. "He survived the attack and treated his own wounds, how resourceful of him," he said somewhat mockingly, he couldn't help it, he didn't particularly like most people.

"Indeed," the voice from the monitor agreed, "According to the police reports, his name is Luffy and he is most likely living on the streets. They have thus far been unable to find any official record of his existence and other than his given name and appearance, nothing about him is known. He is a real mystery…"

"You think we should try to get him to join our league, don't you? You like the idea of a psychokinetic on our force," Shigaraki stated, so far the only person he could really tolerate who had joined their organization was Kurogiri. Other than that they had all been irritating, dimwits who cared only for their paycheck. None of them realized that when they won, money would no longer matter. Society would be too broken to care about a few meager pieces of paper.

"I think it would be most advantageous, we'll need to hire someone to track him down but given the location of the shop he robbed, I'd say we have a fairly strong lead on his current whereabouts," the voice said, "I strongly encourage you to get along"

"If I must," Shigaraki sighed.

"Good," he answered, and with that the feed went dead. Shigaraki turned back to his personal screen where the coffee shop footage was still paused. He played the tape back from the beginning and watched it for the final time. This time he realized what it was that had so intrigued him about it. It was the boy's eyes, right before he used his quirk, there was something cold and furious in them. Like a wild beast's that shouldn't be tested lest you wanted to be torn from limb to limb. It was different from Stain's eyes, and from the eyes of the common thugs he had recruited last time. There was something raw in them, something that spoke of experience. This kid had seen things, had done things. He smiled, perhaps he would make a good addition to their organization after all.

* * *

**Luffy is so ADHD it's not even funny, poor Izuku is just confused. Just add him to the list of people who have had one conversation with him and are now completely charmed by his carefree nature. I think Oda said at some point that the official language of the One Piece world is English which makes sense it's based on 16th century pirates, not only that but most of the characters have western names (Franky, Brook, Robin, Roger, Ace, Rayleigh...) and most of the writing in the background is in English. Since that is the case, Luffy has a slight accent in this world but I figure the dialect of English would be a bit different from anything in their world. As for how Luffy is now speaking fluent Japanese... I'm just gonna say that is due to his ability to "hear the voice of all things" whatever that means (Oda I'm waiting, please explain). If that turns out to be an unusable explanation, just say its wacky dimension magic. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok so this is where the action is going to pick up a bit. All the story lines are starting to come together and from here on out Luffy's arrival in this world will have a much stronger impact on the cannon story. The changes will be small at first but I feel like there will be a snowball effect over time. It's fun to think up all the ways Luffy would change the course of the BNHA story. Anyway, here's the new chapter, I hope you enjoy!**

**Another thing, I have gotten a handful of comments asking me about Luffy's haki and the events that led him to being shot. I already answered this in another chapter but just for clarification I will say it here. Luffy easily could have defended against the bullet but he underestimated the opponents and figured there was no need to use his haki. He figured that if the man shot him, the bullet would easily bounce off of his rubber body as it usually does. Luffy never needed to use haki in the past against bullets and since there is no seastone in this world or haki, he didn't see any need to use it as it would require more energy than it was worth. The quirk the guy used has a similar effect to armament haki so the bullet was able to pierce Luffy's skin. **

**As for nerfing Luffy it's a fair criticism I will say, I'm well aware that Luffy could handle a bullet wound. He's in no danger of dying or anything, he is just uncomfortable and weakened due to blood loss. Usually Luffy has someone to treat his wounds and if push comes to shove he can push through the pain he experiences and continue fighting. As he's no longer fighting, the wound isn't going to magically just heal its more of a bother than anything. To most people this would be enough to kill them, for Luffy it's like a sprained ankle. Furthermore, Luffy is insanely strong, I can't let him loose on this world just yet. He would beat practically every character and it wouldn't be any fun for him. **

**1) TheCartoonist127: Thank you so much for your comment! I would love for you to draw art for it if you wanted, it's totally fine by me!**

**2) Starlight Witch: I'm glad that cleared things up for you. As for your other questions, I don't really want to bring romance into this story as I feel like that would be a bit distracting to the story I want to tell, also I'm not very good at writing romance so any pairings would be just hinted at and you can interpret any scenes in any way whether romantic or platonic if you so desire. Other OP characters in the BNHA world... I don't know, I think its entirely possible that more could show up but I feel like that would be much later on in the story. If I were to introduce other characters it would most likely be the strawhats or Law, though a One Piece villain showing up could potentially interesting... I would have to think about that, its not a bad idea. As for haki, I've always understood the humans in OP to be slightly different than those in our world, they are sturdier, live longer, can use super human techniques and I've always assumed haki to be a trait that was uniquely evolved by the OP universe. Haki is something you are born with and while all humans/races in the OP world are born with haki and can unlock it, I don't think the people in BNHA were born with it, giving them haki wouldn't quite make sense in the rules of their world I think. As for how Luffy got here, that's a mystery that he has to uncover eventually so I don't want to reveal that just yet, but I do have an idea of how that happened. **

**Whew! That was a lot. Anyways, on to the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Calm

"I'm sorry to show up unexpectedly," Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa said, "I hope you don't mind," the hero known as All Might, Yagi Toshinori, handed over the drinks he had made for the both of them.

"Please, it's always a pleasure to see you, Tsukauchi," Toshinori said as he took his seat on the couch across from where the detective was sitting. The school was quiet now that most of the students were out interning with the heroes of their choice for the next few days. The two of them were in one of the teacher's lounges which was unsurprisingly empty given that most of the teachers had chosen to take the week off because of this. "So how's the investigation?" he asked.

"Well there were a number of villains who attacked the USJ," Tsukauchi said, his face growing serious, "But we are puzzled by one, the one you fought who they called 'Nomu'" Toshinori thought back to his battle with the strange beast like man that the man calling himself Shigaraki had brought with him.

"Ah, that strong bird guy," the 'Nomu' had had unbelievable strength, almost enough to compete with him and he had to admit that given his slowly dissipating power and time limit, he had struggled somewhat to take him down.

"We went ahead and ran some tests on Nomu's DNA," Tsukauchi continued, piquing Toshinori's curiosity.

"And what exactly did you find?" he asked.

"First: We're not asking you to help us with the case. This is technically a leak," Tsukauchi began, looking down and not meeting Toshinori's eyes, he paused for a moment and then glanced up to face him "I just felt I owed it to you to let you know, it could lead us to the one in charge," Toshinori inhaled sharply as he listened to what the detective was saying. Clearly whatever it was he wanted to tell him was of the utmost importance.

"After several attempts at interrogation, we realized that Nomu can't speak" Tsukauchi continued, "He shows no reaction to anything, it's as though he literally can't think for himself. No matter what's going on around him." Toshinori listened intently, remembering the blank look on Nomu's face and it's vacant stare that conclusion made sense to him. Tsukauchi paused, sliding a picture of a young man across the coffee table so that Toshinori could get a look at it, "As for his identity, we discovered that he used to be a low-level thug with a record of assault and extortion" Toshinori stared at the unfamiliar face, somewhat confused.

"Why do you think this will lead us to the mastermind behind the League?" he asked and Tsukauchi leaned in a bit closer as though he were about to disclose something more secretive.

"Here's where it gets interesting," Toshinori raised an eyebrow, "Our reports show that he's been altered drastically. When we analyzed his genetic makeup, we discovered four people's DNA" Toshinori put his hand to his chin in thought.

"Someone combined people's DNA to make this guy," he thought aloud, "So is he even human anymore?" he asked turning his attention back to Tsukauchi.

"The transformation is a result of drugs and other unknown methods. To oversimplify it a bit, he's been modified so that his body is able to hold multiple quirks at once. His brain's apparent lack of processing power probably comes from the burden that causes, but we're more concerned about his DNA. He shouldn't have more than one power, even if new DNA's introduced that shouldn't give a person multiple powers. Not unless it's completely integrated into someone's body. Not all quirks work like One For All, but maybe…" Toshinori's eyes widened and he felt his whole body tense at what he knew Tsukauchi was implying "...there's someone out there with the power to pass different quirks on to other people," Toshinori gasped.

"It can't be!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet in alarm and disbelief.

"Given the evidence, I think it's a reasonable conclusion," Tsukauchi replied calmly, his face grim, "It's why I came, I had to let you know immediately," Toshinori walked over to the window facing out over the city and the ocean on the horizon. The sun was setting, turning the sky a brilliant orange. It all looked so peaceful, this was the Tokyo he had strived to create, one where people could live without the fear that at any moment the world could come crashing down around them. What Tsukauchi was implying would undermine everything he had worked for. He couldn't accept this, not after everything he had been through, after what _he_ had done.

"No, it's not possible!" he tensed his muscles and retook the strong muscular form that everyone recognized, "Don't tell me he's back again," his body was steaming slightly as it usually did when he shifted forms. Tsukauchi rose to his feet and placed a hand on Toshinori's shoulder.

"We haven't confirmed this, thus far it's just a theory. I wanted to bring it to your attention considering what's at stake, but just know that we are still investigating and that I'll let you know of any updates on the case," Toshinori glanced down at his long time friend and took a deep breath. He sighed and relaxed his muscles, retaking his emaciated form. He had to remind himself that with his worsening condition, he shouldn't take up his All Might appearance unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention Tsukauchi," he gave his friend a strained smile and walked back to the couch where he had been sitting and fell back into it heavily. Life had felt rather hectic these days and he wasn't certain if he could keep up anymore in his current state, he thought that once he had found a successor for One For All that things would get easier. Young Midoriya had been the right candidate, he knew that. He had chosen well, but he was still so young and unprepared for the storm that seemed to be looming on the horizon. He shook his head, he just prayed that the police were wrong and that perhaps there was another explanation for what they had seen.

"You can thank me by keeping this information secret from the public, the last thing we need is mass panic," Tsukauchi said also retaking his own seat. Toshinori laughed at that but it was only half hearted.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he paused looking at his friend's face, he seemed unusually sullen, "Something else is bothering you isn't it?" Tsukauchi sighed and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"There has been an unprecedented number of unsolved cases lately and I hate to admit it I've been feeling rather overworked," Toshinori frowned, he had noticed that as well, the number of mysteries felt like it had tripled the norm since the school year began. "Starting with that mysterious villain of two months ago, the only update we've had on that is that we believe he has been confirmed to be male and that his speed is only a secondary effect of some sort of strength quirk," Toshinori sat up a bit at that.

"There have been updates in the Ravager case?" he asked and Tsukauchi nodded.

"Only that, we were able to find an item of clothing we believe belonged to the villain and we found traces of blood DNA samples on it. We haven't been able to match it to anything on the database and its only enough to build a partial profile from it but we were able to confirm his gender and due to telomeres we are guessing his age is somewhere between twenty five and thirty five years," Toshinori relaxed back into the couch, it wasn't much but it was something. Tsukauchi sighed, and took a sip from the mug that Toshinori had offered him.

"Then there are the several street murders, we have one suspect but we haven't been able to confirm anything on her. Stain has disappeared off the face of the Earth and we can only guess where he might reemerge. Two notorious serial killers were found unconscious in an alley, the vigilante Crawler was seen in the area but it doesn't look like his handiwork. This combined with two other instances leads us to believe that we have a new vigilante on the loose or at least a petty criminal with a sense of morality,"

"Ah, are you referring to the coffee shop incident?" Toshinori asked and Tsukauchi nodded, he looked away a look of guilt flashing across his face, "What's wrong?"

"I was there, not when the robbery occurred, but just a few moments before hand," he put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, "I even spoke to the victim, Luffy, he was an odd kid but certainly harmless. He said something to me that seemed strange at the time but given his circumstances it makes sense in hindsight, if I hadn't rushed out of the shop and stayed a bit longer maybe… maybe things would have turned out differently. We're still trying to locate his family, but the longer we search the more I'm beginning to think he doesn't have one,"

"Ah, he is the one that ran into Young Bakugo," Toshinori said, "According to him, there might be a chance that he is still alive, I would not give up hope of finding him just yet," he reassured, Tsukauchi smiled but shook his head.

"I doubt it, but thank you," he sat up straighter and cleared his throat, "Getting back to the possible vigilante, we suspect that he has some form of psychokinetic abilities that can knock people unconscious and affect the environment, furthermore we suspect that he was involved in the robbery of another shop not too far away and the take down of the serial killer duo," he sighed, "All this combined with the USJ investigation…"

"You really have your hands full don't you?" Toshinori asked and Tsukauchi stood up.

"The departments been running around in circles trying to tackle everything," he said grabbing his coat, "I can't even afford to stay and talk with you any longer, I've already lost track of time and I'm running late for a meeting with my partner,"

"Oh! Sorry!" Toshinori said, leaping to his feet, he grabbed the door and opened it for his friend, Tsukauchi hurried past but turned before he left.

"Thank you for having me," he said and Toshinori shook his head.

"It was no problem, you're welcome anytime," Tsukauchi nodded and hurried down the hall. Toshinori sighed as he closed the door to the lounge and grabbed his own mug from the coffee table. He walked back to the window that overlooked the city. He took a sip of the tea inside and thought over everything Tsukauchi had told him, things were beginning to take a turn for the worse. He feared that even he didn't know what the world had in store for them next, all he could do was hope that he was strong enough to deal with it until Young Midoriya was ready to take up his mantle and become the next symbol of peace.

* * *

"Hope you're ready," Gran Torino said waving his cane in the air, "We're going out to fight some villains!" He and Izuku were standing on the doorstep of Gran Torino's apartment in their hero garb. It had been a long day of training, however Gran Torino had decided at some point that it wasn't enough and that they needed a change in pace.

"Huh? What!? Just like that!?" Izuku exclaimed in alarm. Gran Torino nodded.

"If you only fight against me, you'll be in trouble when you come across someone who is the complete opposite," he explained as he began walking down the street. Izuku stared at him for a moment before following after him. "The key is to let you get experience with different types of villains and situations," Izuku felt his stomach knotting up as he listened to his new instructor, they had only been training together for a few days, there was no way he was ready for this, "This is an internship after all, you really shouldn't be that surprised by this," Izuku knew what he was saying made sense but that didn't stop the unease he felt.

"I see what you're saying, and I totally agree, but I still think I need more time to prepare myself," Izuku answered, voicing his concerns. He put his hand up to his stomach which was beginning to feel a bit nauseous.

"From what I heard, you've already been in combat with some real villains," Gran Torino answered and as if he heard the unease in Izuku's voice, "You'll be just fine, we aren't gonna go after anyone that big," he reassured. They paused as Gran Torino hailed a taxi. "And it won't do us any good hangin' around here," they got in the car.

"Because of the small population in this area, the crime rate is pretty low with the exception of a few incidents here and there," he explained as they began their drive, "That's why there are so many hero injuries in urban areas, there's a lot more crime there. The higher the population density, the more trouble you'll find. Now in Shiyuba we'll have plenty of small fights to break up, I guarantee," Izuku was quiet as he listened, but at the mention of Shiyuba he started a bit.

"Wait, you mean we're going to Shiyuba in Tokyo!?" He felt his cheeks go red at the thought of it, "I'm uh, not so sure that my costume is hip enough…" he folded his hands in his lap and stared at his feet. He was pretty sure that he looked like an idiot.

"That costume of yours tells everyone you're a hero, you should be happy you get to display it in such a bright spotlight," Gran Torino said with a confident smile.

"Uh, hold on," Izuku interrupted, his head shooting up, "Are we gonna be taking the bullet train toward Shinjuku?" he asked.

"Yup!" Gran Torino affirmed. Izuku frowned slightly and turned to look out the window at the city passing by. _We'll pass Hosu City…_ he thought to himself, _I wonder how Iida is doing there?_

* * *

"Huh, Hosu City looks nicer than I expected," Stain didn't seem startled by his appearance. Shigaraki had found him sitting atop a water tower, overlooking the city. Kurogiri had just portal-ed him up to meet him and yet he hardly seemed to pay him any mind. "So, what are you gonna do?"

"I will reform it," Stain responded, not turning to face him. His attention was entirely placed on the insignificant ants below them, wandering about blissfully unaware that their own destruction was just around the corner. The sky was stained a dark purple as the horizon glowed blood red, fitting for what was about to happen, "In order to do so, blood must spill."

"You have a clear goal, your dedication is admirable," Kurogiri said, Shigaraki couldn't help but roll his eyes. He liked Kurogiri well enough but he was growing annoyed at his attempts to get Stain on their side. He was just a hair short from sucking up to him.

"Ah… finally, someone who understands," Stain said getting to his feet.

"I get the feeling you enjoy picking on me," Shigaraki snarled, he couldn't stand being in Stain's presence. Everything about the man irritated him.

"'Hero' is a title for those who've accomplished great deeds!" he declared, "This city is full of false champions, all they care about is money and fame. Until this world realizes its mistakes," he reached for his blade, "I will continue my work!" he announced, drawing his blade and leaping down from the water tower. Shigaraki watched as Stain ran off into the night.

"He talks all high and mighty and stuff but he's wasting his time on the small stage," Shigaraki said, scratching at the now healing injury that Stain had given them the other day. "He's so noble I could cry," he mocked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You shouldn't spurn his methods," Kurogiri said, turning to face him, "the reality is, in all the cities Stain has appeared, the crime rates have fallen. Perhaps because people are more conscientious, or perhaps out of fear. Regardless, he does bring change," Shigaraki stared at him, unimpressed. He moved from scratching at his shoulder to scratching at his neck.

"Oh isn't that just wonderful!" Shigaraki spun around to look over the city in the same way Stain had done, "Heroes are working harder thanks to all those murders! I guess you could say our 'Hero Killer' is also a 'Hero Breeder'" he gestured wildly as he spoke, his voice just as sarcastic and mocking as it had been moments ago. He dropped his arms and his voice went dull, "This is getting boring, it won't work," he folded his arms, "We just can't agree on a basic level, and he annoys me. Kurogiri, bring out the Nomus," Kurogiri was silent but he opened up his portal and acquiesced to Shigaraki's demands.

"You think you can get away with stabbing me?" he muttered to himself as one by one the strange horrifying beasts called Nomu began to wander out from Kurogiri's vortex. "When I get tired of you, I'll kill you. Whenever I feel like it, just like that Stain. But let's make it more interesting. How about I crush your honor and pride first? What do you say, Big Bad Hero Killer?" he sneered, staring down over his army of abominations.

* * *

Luffy had found an amazing new pass time. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before but now that he had, he had spent the entire day laughing hysterically as he watched the world zoom past him. He had started that morning with a feast of burritos, which he had scarfed down in a matter of minutes. Then he had wandered around the river bank somewhat aimlessly as he tried to brainstorm ways he could get back to his crew. After about an hour of this and nearly falling in he realized that maybe the railing of a bridge wasn't the best place he should be balancing precariously when he had no one around to fish him out of the river below. It was then that he saw a car racing across the bridge and a new idea had popped into his head.

It hadn't gone exactly the way he had planned it out in his head, but then again, most things didn't. He had crouched along the side of the bridge, laughing to himself as he waited for another car to come flying by. He didn't have to wait long, as the small blue car whizzed by he stretched out his arms and grabbed the top of the car and rocketed himself towards it. He hit it a bit harder than he had meant to and the vehicle swerved back and forth trying to right itself. After a moment, the car steadied and they were flying across the bridge and Luffy was laughing wickedly as the wind blew through his hair. It only went this smoothly for about ten minutes until they got to the other side of the bridge and the car slowly came to a stop. Luffy looked down in confusion and then yelped as a fully grown man grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off the roof of the car.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" the man screamed in his face. Luffy stared at him in confusion, what was he yelling about. "I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BEAT YOU BLACK AND BLUE YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE STREET RAT, MAYBE I SHOULD JUST TOSS YOU OFF THE BRIDGE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THIS CAR COST!" It was then that Luffy realized that this man didn't sound quite like all the people here, and that he manner of speech sounded a lot more like how Luffy himself spoke. Not only that but he didn't look like like the people here either. He had paler skin and fairer hair and was smoking a cigar.

"Is this the idiot that almost ran us off the road?" another male voice said as he stepped out of the car. Something about these guys reminded Luffy of his former ally Capone Bege. They were both wearing suits but they didn't exactly look like normal businessmen. "We don't have time for this, we're going to be late for our meeting, just throw him over and be done with it," the other man said and the first man nodded, dragging Luffy over to the railing of the bridge. Ok, this wasn't good. He kneed the man holding him in the crotch, effectively causing him to drop him and without thinking twice he took off running.

He had tried his car riding scheme again, but now that he was in the city, not only was it boring but he could only ride for a few minutes without the cops showing up to yell at him. He sighed, it had been a good idea but unfortunately it didn't seem to be working out. It was then he had seen it. The Rocketman, only this time it was on land and not in the water. He remembered the ride from Water 7 to Enies Lobby and a wild smile overtook his face. This was going to be fun.

And that was how he had ended up with his legs wrapped around two pieces of metal as he raced over one hundred miles an hour across the country, his arms waving wildly in the air and laughing hysterically. The first time he had gotten on one of these bullet trains he had nearly been blown off the top of it, but he was determined to ride the thing and now he sat atop it, a glorious train tamer. He laughed as the wind pulled back at the skin around his face, stretching it out a little bit as he he zoomed to the train's next destination, which he didn't really care about to be honest. The sky had grown dark as he rode from stop to stop but he didn't care. He tried doing some tricks as he held on for dear life, but each time he did so he nearly shot off the back of the train and onto the tracks below. At one point he had been and after laying there stunned for a few moments was hit by another train the instant he stood up.

That had scared them, he had just climbed up the front and taken his seat atop the new train when they halted to a stop and called the police. Luffy had laughed at their puzzlement at the lack of body or blood. They figured eventually that they might have just hit some garbage that had blown onto the tracks but it had been a while before the train got moving again. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before in the time he had spent here. He turned his head and stared out over the city which was now glowing like the night sky. It was beautiful from his vantage point and he couldn't help but marvel at it, even this strange world could be beautifully amazing at times, he had to admit that. The lights of the city were blocking out the stars in the sky though. He frowned, it reminded him just how foreign this place was to him. He could never dream of sleeping under an empty sky.

Something exploded in the distance, catching him off guard. That wasn't normal. At least not for this place, in fact he hadn't seen anything quite like that here. He leant over slightly, trying to find out what was happening. It was then that he saw something, a dark blip that seemed to be moving across the sky at a rapid pace. He squinted his eyes, trying to block out the wind so that he could get a better look. It was hard to make out against the city lights and the dark sky but he could make out a strange humanoid form that seemed to be rocketing in his general direction. It was holding something, or rather someone. Was there a fight going on? Luffy grinned in excitement as he watched the two fly directly at the train.

Suddenly the whole train rocked and nearly fell off the side of the tracks. Luffy felt himself losing his balance and he toppled off the top of the train and hit the cement railing that prevented the train from running off the side. He bounced off the side and found that he was now dangling over the city by his right leg that was now stuck on the top of the train. The train had yet to stop and now he was being dragged through the air, swinging wildly from side to side and bouncing off of buildings and columns below. He glanced up at the train and watched as two figures shot out of the opposite side, through the cement rail and down to the city below. The explosion that had gone off in the city had left behind a burning region of chaos and Luffy could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance.

"Woah…" Luffy muttered, this was one of the most interesting things that had happened in the entire time he had been there. He glanced back up at the train as he smacked full force into another building. It seemed that the train was beginning to slow. He reached up and grabbed his leg, pulling on it. He wiggled his foot, trying to get it untangled from his leg. This was one of the downsides to having elastic limbs, he had a bit of a tendency to get himself tangled up. Luckily he had experience in dealing with this issue. After a few seconds of fiddling with his leg and ankle, he felt his leg give way and suddenly his foot was shooting back to meet his body.

"Yes!" he exclaimed but then immediately felt his body begin to plummet back to the earth below. He rocketed backwards, slamming into the cement column holding up the railing, bouncing off of it and crashing into the building next to it. He ricocheted off of that and landed heavily on the road, bouncing several times off of the ground before he finally came to a stop. He lay on the ground for a second before shakily getting to his feet, he was now covered in scrapes and he felt a bit stunned but otherwise he was fine. He turned his attention back to the portion of the city that was on fire and began running, he had to see what was going on.

* * *

**Ugh, my computer was so buggy it took me an hour to upload this chapter cause the damn thing thought it would be a great time to freeze. Anyways, Luffy must have been quite a spectacle for anyone in the city below as he slammed into several buildings and then rocketed into the earth below. They were probably too busy running from the nomus though so maybe they didn't notice. As the one writing the story and already knowing all the answers, I can't tell how the mystery of the Red Ravager is going. I'm curious to know if anyone has a clear idea or even just a suspicion of what's up with him and what his motives are. I feel like its mostly just dramatic irony at this point, but if not that's good. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so this was an insanely long chapter, at least twice as long as all the others I've written. Anyway, we are getting into the action this chapter as we take on some of the first few villains of the BNHA story. I hope that you enjoy!**

**1) Kadek8785: I know right!? Dramatic irony is one of my favorite story telling tools, a lot of people use it to build tension or create conflict but I personally love it when it's used for comedy. It might not make you laugh out loud but it certainly can give you a smug little grin when you know things that the characters themselves don't.**

**2)Benjutsu: Thanks, Luffy is one of the most entertaining characters in the anime/manga in my opinion and sometimes it's just fun to see him "happen" to people as I've seen someone describe it as. As to his strength, it would be so fun to see him show off his true strength but at the same time he's trying really hard to lie low so that there's less interference in his quest to get back to his world, hence why he's been mostly using his conqueror's to take down enemies. Mostly the scene where he gets the bullet wound was to create more mystery for the BNHA characters, "how did he survive that, what sort of kid can just walk away from a bullet hole in the chest" sort of thing. Him caring for his bullet wound after was in part to set up future plot points, explore his character and relationship with his crew and to have a little silly scene where he breaks into someone's house, steals their clothes, leaves a message in blood on the wall and then casually leaps out the window. Not arguing his strength though, he's literally one of the strongest characters in the OP world and could take on pretty much everyone in BNHA as he is now. **

* * *

Chapter 8: The Hero Killer

"Everyone, please! Remain calm!" The conductor was shouting as people were beginning to panic, "Return to your seats! The villain is no longer here! More heroes will arrive soon, I'm sure!" Izuku stared out into the darkness of the hole that had been made in the side of the train. Gran Torino had disappeared from sight entirely, along with the creature that had torn it's way into the speeding train car. He turned to the conductor, his mind made up.

"Keep them calm! I'm going after them!" he announced, turning to run out the gap and onto the concrete walkway outside.

"Hey are you nuts?! It's way too dangerous out there!" the conductor called after him but Izuku ignored him as he ran. His thoughts were racing even faster than his feet. Everything had happened so fast, he was only now beginning to process it all. _He looked different, but there can't be that many people with wild eyes and brains spilling out! _He thought as he continued back down the track. _Maybe Nomu's brother? What is he doing in the city? _He glanced around at his surroundings. There was no time to use the stairs, it was now or never. Using what he had learned from his brief time with Gran Torino, he activated One For All. His body began to tingle with power but he focused on limiting how much he was accessing. He took a deep breath and leapt off the side of the tracks and down to the city below.

"I've totally got this!" he announced in excitement, this was the first time he had tried to put his 'full cowling' technique into practice and he was surprised at how well it seemed to be working. He landed gracefully and began running towards the chaos. "Gran Torino, please be okay!" he prayed as he hopped down to ground level. Here the crowds of people attempting to escape started to hinder his progress slightly. _I don't get it though, why did that guy look like Nomu? _His thoughts returned to the creature he was about to face. _If he's got insane power like the one All Might fought at the USJ, this could be really bad… It won't just be Gran Torino in trouble, but the entire city! That includes Iida, he's interning here! Crap, what do I do? _The choice was impossible, and he was running out of time. Should he run to his friend's aid? But then what about Gran Torino and those directly being attacked by the Nomu-like creature.

"Tenya!" a voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned to find where it had come from, searching the crowd. "Where are you, Tenya?!" It was coming from down a side street. Izuku turned and followed after it. A crash to his right caused him to turn and he saw that a large bus had been thrown not far from where he was standing. It slid across the concrete and Izuku had to shield his face from the heat of the explosion that followed. The flames died down, revealing several more of the Nomu-like creatures wreaking havoc and attacking anyone within their range. _What are these things!? _Izuku thought in horror.

"Manual! Stop the fire!" a man shouted, it was then that Izuku noticed that the people being attacked by the monsters were heroes.

"That's Manual, the normal hero!" he realized, "Iida's at his agency!" he ran forward to see if he could find Iida somewhere nearby or maybe ask Manual where he had gone.

"Why'd you run off by yourself?! Where the hell are you, Tenya?! Dammit!" Izuku froze and he heard Manual muttering to himself. Iida had gone off on his own, despite the attack on the city? That wasn't like him at all. Iida was a straight A student, he never broke the rules. He was the class representative and it was a responsibility he took seriously. He was the friend who insisted that everyone follow the rules of not only the classroom but of society as well. For him to run off like this…

"You're in the way kid, get out of here!" One of the heroes shouted as she stepped in front of him. Izuku jumped, not realizing that he had wandered so close to the battle.

"Right! I'm so sorry!" he stammered out, feeling slightly embarrassed for hindering them.

"We can hold these things back on our own! Evacuate with everyone else!" she ordered, Izuku stumbled back a few paces but found himself unable to move any further as he watched the battle ensue. His mind was racing as he thought over what it was that Iida could possible want in Hosu that would cause him to… his eyes widened.

"No way… he couldn't..!" he muttered. The sudden revelation shocked him into action, he turned on his heels and ran in the opposite direction. He had to find Iida. Now.

* * *

Luffy perched atop a tall building and stared down at the fight that was happening below. It was kind of crazy. He grinned, this was awesome. He wrapped his arms around his chest and crouched over, doing his best to keep himself from leaping into the fray. He bounced on the balls of his feet, the itch to finally do something wild resulting in actual physical distress. Despite this, he was enjoying the show. He hadn't really seen that many heroes in his time here and he had to admit the sparkle in his eyes wasn't due to the reflecting flame. He wasn't really glad that the city was being destroyed, that kind of sucked, but he couldn't help but feel more at home in the chaos. He watched as one of the weird birds grabbed a bus and tossed it across the square, the hero for whom the attack had been meant for managed to dodge at the last second and Luffy cheered. Then the bus exploded and he noticed the small figure that was illuminated by the fire.

He squinted, he looked kind of familiar. The fire dimmed down but now the square was fully lit by the remaining flames. The rather smallish figure was wearing a green outfit as well as having green curly hair that shone in the firelight. Luffy grinned when he noticed the freckles that were sprinkled across his cheeks and nose. He had definitely seen him before.

"Hey! Izu!" he exclaimed, waving one of his arms in the air trying to get the boy's attention. Maybe he could join him in watching the battle. Luffy wondered if Izu had any food, he seemed like the kind of guy that would be prepared for anything. Then again, he seemed kind of busy at the moment, maybe he had already eaten. Luffy just shrugged and continued waving, "It's me! Do you hear me!?" he called but Izu paid him no mind. Maybe the sounds of the battle were too much for him to hear his voice. Man, it was real annoying that the people here didn't seem to know about haki. If Izu used it, he might have been able to sense him and they could have hung out and cheered the heroes on.

He watched as Izu ran toward the heroes on the field. Luffy paused, thinking back to the other night when they had met. Hadn't Izu mentioned something about being a hero in training or something like that? Luffy gasped, was Izu going to join the fight? He hadn't really seen what Izu was fully capable of yet and wasn't quite sure what his quirk was either. As far as he could tell he could make his fingers into weird cannons and jump into the wall really fast. Not bad abilities, but not all that useful for battle. Well, the finger thing had been cool but he also broke all of them after using them so that was a bit lame. Whatever, Izu seemed like a capable guy, he was sure that whatever it was he could do, he would do it pretty well.

"Go Izu!" he shouted, still no one seemed to hear him over the din of the battle. He sighed, too bad. Izu seemed to be running away anyway. He wasn't sure what that was all about. He frowned and ran his finger across the roof of the building he was standing on in disappointment. It wasn't nearly as fun to watch this alone. He had only met Izu for a few minutes but he was a nice guy and he had been hoping to get to know him better, plus he offered him money for food so that made him all right in Luffy's book. After several minutes he turned his attention back to the fight. Soon he was back to his old self, cheering and clapping as one side got a good shot at the other. At this point he wasn't really sure who he was rooting for, they were both pretty cool. He liked heroes a lot, and they seemed to be on good terms with Izu so he figured he should probably root for them.

That was was when _he _showed up. Luffy froze as he watched the scene unfold. The blazing man took down a single birdman with a burst of fire that completely burned away its skull. Luffy frowned as the man gave out orders and began chasing down another birdman. Luffy slowly followed after him, walking along the rooftop as he watched the burning man fight. Eventually the man managed to save the civilian who was being carried away by the birdman and caught him safely before he crashed into the pavement. To everyone he looked like a hero, to Luffy he looked like someone else. He silently watched the hero place the civilian down and turn back to the fire. The man had no idea he was right there, did he? This world didn't have haki. As though he had heard his thoughts, the man froze as though suddenly aware he was being watched. Luffy went still as the hero glanced up at him for a brief moment. Despite the fire that licked his body, his eyes were oddly cold. Luffy did not like this man, not one thing about him. His quirk, his status, his movements, his eyes… all of it was wrong. He reached up to his his chest which was itching again at the sight of him and he felt that the gleam in his eyes had hardened so that they were just as cold as the ones staring up at him from the battle below. He shouldn't have that ability, he shouldn't be a hero, not when he was like...not when he…

The hero Endeavor's eyes went wide for a moment as he stared up at him. They flickered with recognition and for a brief moment, though it wasn't visible on his face nor in his behavior, Luffy could sense fear. Fear and anger. Endeavor may not be the same as that man, but there was something just as cold and absolute in him. The two stared at each other for several seconds, then a scream for help ripped through the night, catching the heroes attention. Luffy scowled, he didn't want anything more to do with this. The stupid fire-man had ruined his fun. He stood up and angrily put his hands in his pockets as he walked back across roof of the building he had been standing on. He hopped across to another rooftop, ignoring the sound of another explosion behind him.

"Stupid flame-beard, ruining a perfectly good fight…" he muttered as he stretched out his arms and launched himself up to the next building that was several feet taller than the one he had been standing on. He pulled himself up over the ledge of the roof and climbed to his feet. He glanced around and suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was, he had been riding the train all day and he was now probably miles away from the river bank he had been sleeping by. In retrospect, maybe sleeping next to a riverbank wasn't the best idea, especially for him, but Luffy wasn't one for thinking things through. He sighed and decided that he would just keep walking forward until he had either found his bridge, or he decided that he just didn't feel like walking anymore. To be honest, it didn't really matter to him. He was about to continue when he felt two auras to his left. He turned and saw them standing there.

"A shadow and a hand man…" he mumbled under his breath in confusion, there was something about them that stood out to him. They were strong, he could sense it, but they weren't moving to do anything. In fact he was sensing the same joy he had been experiencing only a bit more...malevolent. He turned back to look at the fire burning in the square behind him and glanced back at the two atop the water tower. They were interesting… the shadow turned to speak to the hand man but stopped when he seemed to notice Luffy. He must have said something to hand man because he too tore his gaze away from the battle and turned to face Luffy. Curiosity, confusion, malice. That was what Luffy could sense from the hand man. The shadow wasn't much different. The three stared at each other before Luffy shrugged and turned back to where he had been going. He didn't really care what they were up to, it wasn't any of his business. Besides, he was beginning to grow hungry.

He hopped down from the top of the roof down to the pavement below him. If anyone had been watching, they would have felt their eyes widen and their hearts beating out of their chests as they witnessed a teenager free falling from the roof of a ten story building. However with most of the people gone, Luffy didn't hear a single scream as he bounced once and landed gracefully on his feet. He brushed himself off and continued down the street. There was another loud crash from the square and Luffy sighed, he had really been looking forward to that fight. Maybe there would be another bird attack next week, he could watch that one right?

"Then I could bring a snack, it's such a shame that I-ooaaugh!" Luffy was cut off as he was suddenly thrown several feet through the air and into the concrete wall of the building next to him. He shook his head, mildly dazed by the sudden violence and glanced up trying to find out what exactly had just hit him. His eyes widened slightly as he saw one of the bird men standing across the street from him, slowly lumbering towards him. How had he not sensed that attack? He hadn't been any more distracted than usual, why hadn't he been able to detect his presence. He closed his eyes and strengthened his focus. He could clearly map out the area in his mind with his haki, but the bird man seemed like just another part of the environment. He didn't seem like a beast or man but more like an inanimate object with no will of its own.

"What the…" the bird man had no intention, no desire, no emotion, no will. But it was clearly moving towards him, it was unlike anything he had sensed before. He opened his eyes and strengthened his haki further, now he could feel his eyes flashing slightly. No, there was a will there, it was faint but it was there. It did not belong to the bird. It was coming from far away and it was intelligent and hard to read. What was happening. It felt similar to the effect of the parasite string, or the string clones he had fought back in Dressrosa. This was simply a puppet. He didn't like it. Luffy pulled himself out of the rubble and grinned. Maybe he would get that fight after all.

* * *

Izuku ran through the empty streets of Hosu. There was no way that Iida would even consider doing something so idiotic was there? It wasn't possible, the level-headed, rule abiding, perfectionistic Iida would never dream of taking on Stain all by himself, would he? Izuku rounded a corner and shouted for his friend, hearing his voice echoing off the buildings as he moved. He should have known that Iida wasn't okay, his brother had been nearly killed by a villain, of course he wasn't going to be okay after that! _Please, please let me get there in time! _Izuku begged as picked up his pace. He was certain that he had come to the right conclusion, that the Hero Killer was working with those in charge of the Nomus. If that was the case, then he was positive that Stain was here as well. Hosu was so big though, there was no way he would be able to find one person in such a large area. He couldn't give up though, he couldn't just let Iida face Stain alone.

There was a shout and Izuku paused, where had that come from? He strained his ears, scanning the area for anything that could alert him to where his friend might be. The sound of distant and muffled voices was echoing off the buildings to his right. He turned and clenched his fists, running down the nearest alley. He knew that the voices were probably from people who hadn't yet escaped the area but it was the only clue he had so far. As he ran the voices got louder, not just because he was closing in on them but because they were now shouting at one another. Izuku's eyes widened, that was definitely Iida… so the other voice must be…

"Stain…" Izuku breathed. He picked up the pace, it was now or never. He activated One For All once more, feeling it's power coursing through him.

"SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT TO ABOUT ME! YOU'RE STILL JUST A CRIMINAL WHO HURT MY BROTHER!" Izuku heard Iida's voice scream. He was so close now, they must be just around the corner. He turned and his eyes widened slightly. There Stain stood, his tattered clothing billowing around him as though he were a spector, his blade gleaming in the moonlight. Izuku felt his heart nearly burst out of his chest as he noticed that the blade was hovering directly over Iida, who was pinned to floor unable to move out of the way. He had to act now. He leapt up and jumped from wall to wall back and forth across the building. He was building momentum, but he had also caught Stain's attention. Still he didn't hesitate. He leapt through the air and brought his fist down across Stain's face.

"Smash!" he cried as the villain was sent flying back several feet. Izuku landed in front of Iida's motionless body and stood there defensively. He was not going to let Stain harm his friend.

"Who's there?" he heard Iida ask behind him, "Midoriya? How?" Izuku glanced behind him to the prone Iida.

"Don't you worry, Iida. I'm gonna save you," he announced not only to reassure his friend, but himself as well.

"You found him too? But how?" Iida asked.

"I saw it on TV, they had some stats about the hero killer. Most of his victims were found where there weren't many people. So in order to find you, I needed to search far away from the panic. In the back alleys of Hosu City," Izuku explained, "Let's go, back toward the street. We need to get help from the pros." He guarded Iida, trying to allow him time to get to his feet so that they could escape. Stain had killed at least seven professional heros and injured another twenty three. There was no way that two high school students stood a chance facing him alone.

"Ugh…" Iida groaned, "I can't move my body…"

"What!?" Izuku said in alarm, glancing down at his friend who seemed to be struggling but unable to move an inch.

"It must be his quirk. Since he cut me, I've been paralyzed…" he explained.

"That's the kind of quirk people on TV said the Hero Killer might have," Izuku turned back to face Stain who was oddly silent, "So cutting somehow activates his power, huh?" Izuku suddenly gasped when he noticed the still figure slumped against the wall of the alley. "There's someone else!" he realized. He cursed under his breath, if it had just been Iida, then he could have at least tried to carry him away but he couldn't carry the both of them.

"Midoriya, please! Don't get involved!" Iida grunted, Izuku glanced at him in confusion, "This doesn't have anything to do with you!"

"Iida...what are you saying?" Izuku asked, this wasn't going according to plan at all.

"You showed up to save your friends life," Izuku whirled his head around and saw that Stain was recovering from his stunned state, "You even made a big entrance, but I have a duty to kill him and this so called pro. When your friend chose to fight me, it guaranteed the weaker of us would be culled," Izuku felt his blood run cold at those words. This wasn't training any more, he was staring down a cold blooded killer who wouldn't hesitate to murder the three of them if he didn't manage to overpower or escape from him. "So what will you do?"

Izuku knew that there was something different about this man, almost more frightening than the villains he had faced before. It was his eyes, they were wild and burned but they were also cold at the same time. He was a maniac but he also had the conviction and motivation to bring down an empire. Izuku swallowed, he couldn't do this on his own, especially not with Iida down. The most he could hope to do was stall for time. He had reached for his phone while Stain had been talking, he just hoped that his plan would work. He activated the location on his GPS and sent a message, he just hoped its recipient would know what it meant. He kicked himself inwardly, even now that he had sent for backup, he couldn't be totally sure that they would arrive on time or that they would even be coming. He should've brought a pro with him when he had pieced everything together but he had been so panicked that the thought hadn't even occurred to him. It was up to him now, Iida and the paralyzed hero were relying on him and he couldn't let them down.

"Listen to me! Stand down. Run!" Iida insisted, he no longer sounded angry but scared, "I told you this has nothing to do with you!"

"If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero in the first place!?" Izuku exclaimed, frustrated that his friend had gotten himself into this in the first place. He clenched his fists both in annoyance and to prepare himself for his fight against Stain, "There are plenty of things I'd like to say, but they'll have to wait. All Might was right though, meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero!" There was a brief pause after that, even Stain seemed a bit stunned at those words. Then he grinned.

"Good!" he exclaimed as Izuku charged at him. Stain brought back his sword and Izuku drew closer, dodging slightly. Stain seemed to predict his movements and began drawing his knives.

"No! If you get cut!" Iida began but Izuku was a step ahead of the warning, he slid in between Stain's legs, avoiding the blades. Stain whirled around to strike where Izuku was behind him, but Izuku had already leapt into the air preparing to strike.

"A 5% Detroit Smash!" he announced as he brought his fist down heavily across Stain's face, his body shimmering with the power of One for All. Izuku landed and glanced up to see how his attack had fared, Stain had been knocked back but he wasn't down yet. Stain lifted his blade, to his mouth and grinned as he ran his tongue along the flat edge. Izuku suddenly felt a jolt of energy through his body causing him to gasp in surprise. He froze, his limbs unwilling to listen to his commands. When had he been cut!? He thought he had dodged, dammit! He glanced up at Stain as the man got to his feet and began to walk back towards Iida. Then he saw the red dripping off the knife, it wasn't the cutting it was the blood that stopped his enemies in their tracks.

"You're not powerful enough," Izuku's eyes widened as Stain began to speak, "It's not that you predicted my movements, you just left my field of vision and maneuvered so that you could get a clear shot. But I saw through your plan. There are countless false heroes around here who are all talk, but I think you're worthy of staying alive," Stain said as he made his way down the alley back to where Iida still lay motionless, "You're different from these two."

"Wait, don't! Stop it!" Izuku exclaimed, but all he could do was watch as Stain brought his blade horrifyingly close to Iida's face. Stain slowly lifted his sword and let it hover over Iida's body, similar to how he'd been when Izuku had first interrupted him. "Get away!" Izuku screamed in panic. Just then, a ball of fire shot down the alley, catching Stain in the chest and knocking him back.

"Someone else to get in my way. Today's been full of distractions," Izuku's breath caught in his throat and he felt like crying with relief. Standing at the entrance to the alley stood the confident figure of Todoroki Shoto. His body was emanating fire in small tendrils that curled around his arms and lit up the darkness around him.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said calmly, "you need to give more details in times like this," he held up his phone that showed Izuku's location on the map. "I was almost too late to stop this guy,"

"You too, Todoroki?" Iida said sounding stunned.

"How'd you get here?" Izuku asked, bewildered that his half-assed plan had miraculously managed to work. "Hold on, you're using your left side!" he suddenly realized. It was true, Todoroki preferred to use the ice emitted from the right side of his body, his mother's quirk while he avoided using his father's ability on his left side out of spite. It had taken Izuku a lot of work in the tournament to convince Todoroki to use his fire during their fight, he was amazed that he was willingly using it now when he could just as easily choose not to.

"How'd I get here? Good question," Todoroki said, ignoring Izuku's surprise, "Your message took me a while to figure out, next time try to send more than just your specific location. But you're not really one to send cryptic messages without a reason are you?" As he spoke he shot a sheet of ice out towards Stain from his right foot, he easily dodged by jumping into the air, "So I figured you were in trouble and asking for help." Izuku found himself being lifted into the air by Todoroki's ice, "Everything's okay, the pro-heroes will be here any minute!" Todoroki charged towards Stain and shot another fist of fire towards the villain. Stain quickly dodged, he had yet to say anything but it was clear that he was not being passive but studying Todoroki's actions.

"You're just what they said you were," Todoroki addressed Stain now, "But you won't be taking any more lives, Hero Killer,"

"Todoroki! You can't let that guy get your blood!" Izuku warned, still unable to move. He now knew how Iida felt, it was awful to just sit by and watch. "I-I think he controls his enemy's actions by swallowing it! That's how he got us!"

"He ingests blood to keep people from moving, that explains the blades," Todoroki thought aloud, "All I've gotta do is keep my distance-" he was cut off as a small knife flew past his face, grazing his left cheek. He grunted as blood splattered from the small wound.

"You have good friends, Ingenium!" Stain exclaimed, leaping at Todoroki, "Or you did!" he brought his sword down on Todoroki but he was blocked by a sudden pillar of ice that rose up to shield him. Izuku watched as they both glanced up and saw that Stain's sword was spinning in the air, he must have thrown it at the same time as the knife. While Todoroki was distracted, Stain grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward sticking out his tongue to lick the blood off his cheek. Todoroki flared up his left side, causing Stain to withdraw. Todoroki threw another pillar of ice at him which he dodged by leaping up, catching the sword and slicing the pillar in half.

Izuku turned his attention away from the fight, there was no way that he would just lay there uselessly while Todoroki risked his life to save them. He struggled against the invisible bonds of Stain's quirk, it was like a full body cast had been made around him rather than true paralysis so he could feel his muscles moving but the force pushing back on him was too strong to break. He heard Iida saying something but he was too busy straining against the force of the quirk to pay attention to what he was saying. Todoroki snapped back at him and in doing so his attention split itself away from the fight.

"Careful Todoroki!" Izuku grunted, warning him to pay attention to the fight and to not waste his energy talking. He gasped slightly as suddenly he felt the force binding his hands breaking a bit. He glanced down in surprise, was it wearing off? That hadn't been through his own effort, he could tell. There was no time to contemplate, he felt the force dissipate from the rest of his body as well and he got to his feet. He glanced up and saw Stain hit Todoroki in the upper arm with two of his knives. He was now leaping into the air and pouncing at the still paralyzed hero. Without hesitating, he activated One For All and leapt at Stain. He grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him along side the building wall beside them as he continued through the air.

"Midoriya!" Todoroki cried out in surprise.

"I'm not sure why, but I'm able to move now!" Izuku explained as he continued his attack.

"So there's a time limit," Todoroki said.

"No…" the still paralyzed hero muttered, "That kid should've been the last one to be freed. I still can't move a muscle," Izuku suddenly felt a blow to his jaw which sent him back and he landed on the pavement hard.

"Midoriya, dodge!" he heard Todoroki cried and he dove to his right just as another blast of ice flew towards Stain. He crawled over to where Todoroki was and caught his breath, still sort of stunned from the fall.

"He swallows a person's blood to freeze them, but I was the one freed first," he thought aloud, "I've got three different guesses why: his quirk could be less effective the more people he uses it on, the amount ingested could play into how it works, or there could even be a difference based on a person's blood type," Izuku offered. He saw Stain frown, so one of his theories was correct, it was down to them to figure out which one.

"If it's the last one, my blood type is B," the hero grunted.

"I'm type A," Iida answered.

"So you figured it out? Bravo, very impressive," Stain said, slightly mockingly but Izuku could see that he was genuinely impressed.

"It doesn't really help us to know how his quirk works, though," Izuku said, there really was nothing they could do with that information.

"I thought we could hurry and carry those two out of here, but it's no good. He's too fast, he can avoid ice and fire. I'd have to leave myself unguarded," Todoroki replied, "Our best option is to hold until the pros arrive and avoid close combat," Izuku frowned.

"No, you know you've already lost way too much blood, I'll distract him while you support me from behind, sound like a plan?" he asked as he began activating One For All.

"You want us to take a pretty big risk, okay," Todoroki agreed, "We can protect them!"

"Two against one, huh? This fight won't be easy," Stain muttered. Izuku just leapt forward, bouncing from building to building to gain momentum. He was caught off guard however by a sudden pain in his shin and he stumbled, hitting the ground with great force. Stain had slashed him with his blade. He looked up and saw Stain's wild eyes as he leapt at him with his sword drawn. His plan had been no good, Stain had completely changed his pattern of attack since they had first fought him.

"Midoriya!" Todoroki cried in alarm, he sent a torrent of fire shooting out towards Stain. He dodged and brought the blade back up to his lips. _No, not again! _Izuku tried to get up as he saw Stain begin to lick the blade once again, but it was no use. He felt that jolt of energy once again and knew that it was too late. He was frozen once again. He cursed under his breath, he had been of no help. It was up to Todoroki once again to face Stain alone. Todoroki sent another column of ice towards Stain but he easily cut it in half. Todoroki shouted something to Iida and sent another burst of flame upwards towards Stain. Izuku felt his heart racing in his chest, _please, All Might, somebody…_ he thought to himself. He just hoped they would arrive before any of them were hurt.

* * *

Luffy faced the bird man down, it was pretty gross looking. It's eyes were wide and weirdly placed inside its brain which was oddly sticking out. Not a very good thing to have exposed, Luffy could easily just punch it's brain and kill him there. Its skin was a sickly greenish yellow, it reminded him of the undead armies of Thriller Bark, the only difference was that his flesh didn't seem to be falling off. Also, despite it kind of reminding him of a bird what with its weird beak thing and claw like hands, it didn't actually have any wings. That was kind of a bummer. It was sort of strong though, he could tell that much by the force it had used to knock him into the building nearby. He wondered how well it could take a punch.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he exclaimed, shooting his arm ten feet forward towards the birdman. His fist caught the birdman square in the stomach. To his surprise, instead of sending him flying the bird took the brunt of it and stood firm. Luffy grinned, he retracted his arm which made a loud snap as it returned to its rightful form. Now this was promising. He held out his arm and pumped the blood through his body with the muscles of his forearm, he felt his skin heating and knew it was turning a vibrant red so that he almost looked pink. There was a faint hissing as steam began to rise off of him. "Gear second, armament: hardening," he said placing a layer of armament haki on his arm, turning it black. He shot towards the birdman at lightning speed, shooting his arm forward as he did so.

"Jet Hawk!" he exclaimed as the steaming black arm pushed into the opponent sending him flying several feet backwards. To the average person, the speed at which the attack occurred was just barely what could be witnessed, any faster and the human eye would no longer have been able to detect the movement. The birdman, nearly collapsed but it righted itself. Luffy tried to use observation haki yet again but unfortunately there was no intention from the mindless creature, it was acting on pure instinct. It reminded him of when he had turned off his own mind to battle a haki user on sky island, without conscious thought it was impossible to see what his opponent's next actions would be. Thus, when the creature suddenly zipped to the left at rapid speed it somewhat caught him off guard. It punched him across the face and he flew back a few feet before catching himself. No doubt this creature was fairly strong, but it wasn't strong enough to do genuine damage, it had felt like a mere slap in comparison to some of the beatings he had taken over the years. It did have claws though, so he would have to watch out for those. Luffy pulled back his arm and twisted it.

"Hawk rifle!" he shouted as he sent the now tension filled punch towards the birdman. It tried to dodge out of the way but it wasn't fast enough. This time the attack was quick enough that the normal human eye wouldn't have detected it. He caught the birdman in the upper chest and it flew backward through the air and tumbled across the pavement for several feet. There was an explosive sound and several windows shattered as his attack had inadvertently created a sonic boom. The birdman tried to get to its feet but Luffy wouldn't let it, nearly as fast as his punch, he rocketed over to where the birdman lay and once again smacked it in the stomach, creating a crater in the earth below it. He reeled back to punch the creature once again but it suddenly shot to its feet and zipped several feet away. So it had mastered the shave technique as well?

"Shi shi shi! You're quick!" Luffy laughed, a wicked grin on his face. The birdman didn't respond. Instead it began charging at him, moving just slow enough that Luffy could still see him. So it wasn't quite shave, just a quirk like ability that mimicked it. Too bad, fighting a shave master might have been even more fun. Luffy shot another punch at it and it dodged, he threw punch after punch but the birdman's instincts were too good and he was able to dodge each attack. The movements caused a strange zigzagging pattern to his running which was beginning to slow him down. Luffy took the opportunity to go straight for his open brain but to his surprise the birdman threw back it's head and opened his mouth just in time to catch Luffy's fist in his jaw. Luffy's eyes widened as the birdman's gaping maw revealed a row of dangerously sharp fangs that were now holding his outstretched arm in his grip. If he tried to pull back now, the bird would bite into his flesh and potentially rip his arm off. This was not good.

Instead of trying to pull his arm to him, he allowed his body to be retracted back to his fist by leaping into the air and removing the force of friction that was keeping him in place. He flew towards the creature at rapid speed and hit him in the chest with both feet, "Missile!" he shouted. The attack was powerful and caused the creature to stumble back and fall onto its back so that he was now pinning it to the ground, but it refused to release his wrist. Instead it bit down hard its powerful jaws piercing through Luffy's haki shield and deep into the flesh of his forearm. Luffy hissed with pain and reached into the creatures mouth, using his free hand to try and rip its jaw open. The birdman only bit down harder. Luffy placed a layer of haki on his forehead and slammed his head down on the exposed brain of the birdman. That did it. The creature let out an ungodly shriek as it released Luffy's bleeding fist. It began to writhe on the ground as Luffy fell back, holding his injured arm.

"Damn, you bird bastard!" Luffy shouted as he glanced down at the ring of gashes that wrapped fully around his forearm, part of his wrist had been completely torn through. He couldn't fight with this hand or it might completely fall off. He had been too cocky when starting the fight. He thought he had gotten better at that over the past two years, but when the stakes weren't high he still had a tendency to underestimate the enemy. Especially when he was just gambling his own life and not his friends' as well. He glared angrily at the birdman who was regaining hold of itself and stumbling to its feet. He wasn't going to be playing around anymore. He closed his eyes and concentrated, he wasn't used to this new power and it still required a lot of focus but he felt his eyes flashing red as he saw several seconds into the future. With this ability, he no longer needed to sense an individual's actions as he was granted access to a vision of a future in it's entirety. In his mind, the bird raced forward at an unimaginable speed and clawed at his chest, raking its claws through several layers of flesh.

Without opening his eyes, Luffy dodged to the right. He heard the woosh of air as the birdman went to attack where he had been standing. He opened his eyes and shot his undamaged left hand towards the creature's skull. It connected with a loud crack and it once again went flying. It caught itself rather quickly and once again began flying towards Luffy once more. Luffy having already seen this result, leapt into the air and brought his fist down on the creature, striking him in the shoulder. It stumbled but it caught itself and continued running. Luffy landed and turned to face it yet again. It caught him slightly off guard by having rushed towards him in that time and slashing at him with its claws. Luffy bent backwards, just barely avoiding the attack and felt a sharp sting in his abdomen as it nicked him.

"Gomu Gomu no Bell!" he exclaimed, rebounding upward and headbutting him in the exposed brain yet again. The creature screamed yet again and stumbled back, clutching at its head. Luffy took the opportunity to attack again, this time he would use a more powerful technique to end it. He took extended his arm backwards coating it black with haki. He shot towards the monster his arm catching fire as it trailed behind him, lighting up the darkness with a brilliant golden glow. "Red Hawk" He threw his now flaming haki encoated fist at the stunned creature. His fist made contact with it's stomach and a plume of flame shot out through his body, burning his insides and knocking it backwards with such force that it flew back a good fifty feet and continued flying through the concrete wall of a building and disappeared.

"Birdbrain," Luffy muttered as he let his arm deflate back to its original size. He closed his eyes and sensed for the creature with his haki, it was still and as far as he could tell, unconscious. Luffy smirked and reached up to put his hat back on his head, only to be reminded that he no longer had it. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to subdue the surge of emotion that shot through him at the reminder. He had lost it shortly after arriving here, he had searched for hours but had been unable to locate it. He wasn't done looking for it, everyday he searched the streets and in trash bins, he even stole hats off of others to ensure that it wasn't his in disguise somehow. With it gone he felt like he was missing a part of himself, like he wasn't quite whole. He had felt that way ever since being separated from his crew but now that his straw hat was gone, he wasn't even sure he was himself any more. It was such a part of his identity.

He shook his head, he shouldn't dwell on that now, he had won the fight. It had been his first fight since arriving here, and it hadn't taken very long either. He felt his grin returning. All in all, today had been a good day, train rides, hero fights and battling a bird man, granted he had almost lost a hand but what was that in the grand scheme of things? He looked down at his bleeding arm which was starting to hurt now that he had brought attention to it. He should probably do something about that. He laughed lightly to himself as he began wandering off in search of his special spot. Chopper would be so mad at him right now.

* * *

"Has anyone ever told you, you rely on your quirk too much? It makes you a careless fighter!" Stain shouted as he easily dodged another attack from Todoroki. All Izuku could do was watch as he leapt towards Todoroki, his blade ready to slice him in half. He was just inches away from his chest, time seemed to slow down.

"TODOROKI!" he screamed, his heart nearly stopping in his chest. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything to stop this from happening.

"Recipro burst!" Iida's scream cut through the night as he shot forward, the bindings of Stain's quirk finally dispersed. In an instant he was there, his kick shattering Stain's sword and knocking him backwards. Iida leapt up and accelerated his leg so that he performed a roundhouse kick that hit Stain squarely in the jaw and sent him flying. Stain caught himself but Todoroki was no longer in any immediate danger.

"Iida!" Izuku cried with a watery smile, he was nearly in tears he was so relieved.

"You're free too!? Guess his quirk isn't as great as I thought it was," Todoroki said.

"Todoroki, Midoriya," Iida began, bowing, "This has nothing to do with you. I apologize."

"Come on, not this again," Izuku groaned.

"I'm okay, and I won't let the two of you shed any more blood for me!" He announced, his gaze never wavering from Stain.

"It's no use to trying to pretend that you're a hero now. A person's true nature doesn't change in just a few minutes. You'll never be anything but a fraud who prioritizes his own desires, you're the sickness that's infected society and ruined the name hero! Someone must teach you a lesson!" Stain exclaimed, his wild eyes narrowing with unabashed hatred.

"You're a fundamentalist lunatic. Iida, don't listen to this murderer's nonsense," Todoroki growled, clearly furious at Stain's words.

"No, he's completely correct," Iida replied, bluntly, "I have no right to call myself a hero at all, even so there's no way I can back down. If I give up now, then the name Ingenium will die!" he exclaimed, his eyes filled with an equal fire and hatred. They couldn't argue with him.

"Pathetic," was all Stain said in reply before charging once more. Thinking fast, Todoroki pushed Iida back as he shot another defensive column of fire towards Stain.

"Idiots!" the still paralyzed hero that Izuku now recognized as Native cried, "The Hero Killer is only after me and that kid in the white armor! Stop fighting back, just get out of here!"

"I don't think he'd let me run, even if I wanted to," Todoroki said, "Something's clearly changed in him just now! He's rattled." Izuku turned to look at Stain, it was true. He had been sent even closer to that edge of madness so now he was just barely teetering in the realm of sanity. It had been Iida. He had challenged his precious morals and beliefs by standing to fight with them. He was no longer the fraud that Stain claimed he was, he was just a kid who had made a dumb mistake and now Stain had to cling even tighter to his ideals or risk admitting that he truly was just a murderer and a villain. He would have to question how many of those he had already attacked had been just as innocent according to his own morality. By killing Iida the contradiction would be gone and he could continue on his hunt. He was desperate to finish the job before the pros showed up or he would forever have to question the foundation of his own philosophy. The heavy price of absolutism was madness.

"Hey Todoroki!" Iida cried, getting Todoroki's attention, "Can you regulate your temperatures?"

"Not well with my left, but yes I can," he answered, his focus still on channeling a column of fire at Stain.

"You gotta freeze my leg for me," Iida said, earning a confused look from Todoroki, "Without plugging the exhaust!"

"You're in the way!" Stain exclaimed throwing a knife at Todoroki. Iida dove forward and blocked the knife with his own arm, the blade digging deep into his flesh.

"No, Iida!" Izuku exclaimed, lunging forward before pausing. He could move again!

"Why won't you stay down!" Stain screamed throwing another knife into Iida's shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

"Iida-"

"Just do it, hurry!" Iida shouted, cutting off Todoroki's cry of alarm. Izuku got shakily to his feet, he tried moving his leg but it was practically useless with that injury. Nonetheless he charged up One For All and prepared to charge. At the same time, Todoroki froze the engines in Iida's calves and he too began to race towards Stain.

"Recipro Extend!"

"One For All Full Cowling!" Upwards they both shot towards the Hero Killer, Iida preparing a kick and Izuku a punch. Stain's eyes widened as he knew he couldn't avoid the attack. They struck him at the same time, a kick to the gut and a punch to the jaw that left him stunned. Izuku felt a sudden pain in his arm, had he accidentally used too much power? He didn't think it was broken but it still hurt. The three of them began falling and Stain recovered as they did so, grabbing his broken sword and slashing at Iida who managed to dodge.

"I will defeat you Stain! Because you are a criminal!" he shouted, his voice full of fury.

"Don't let him get away!" Todoroki exclaimed from below, shooting fire towards Stain. Iida ignited his engine again and kicked downward at Stain again with full force, sending him shooting downwards.

"AND I AM A HERO!" he cried as Stain was hit by Todoroki's fire. Stain gasped and coughed, blood spewing from his mouth. The three of them continued falling and were caught by an ice ramp formed by Todoroki, he didn't allow Stain to gently slide down and instead trapped him with the ice. He wasn't moving.

"He's gotta be knocked out after all that…" Izuku muttered, looking up at the limp body that was hanging somewhat from the pillar of ice, "Right?"

"Let's restrain him and get him to the street," Todoroki suggested, "maybe we can find some rope," Iida was silent.

"Yeah, and maybe we should take all his weapons too," Izuku offered.

"Good idea," Todoroki agreed. It took them awhile but after several minutes of work and searching they were able to get Stain down from the ice, confiscate his weapons and tie him up so that he could no longer harm them. By this point, Native was up and moving again. Apparently whatever blood type he had the effects lasted the longest on him.

"Native, are you okay?" Izuku asked, making sure that the hero wasn't seriously hurt.

"Yeah, I think I'm good as new now," he said, lifting Izuku up and putting him on his back so that he could carry him. Izuku would have protested but he felt exhausted from all the excitement. That and his leg burned with pain so he wasn't even sure that he actually could walk at the moment.

"You sure" he asked, still not wanting to impose.

"I saw you hurt your leg back there, at least let me do this for you," Native insisted. Izuku sighed and felt himself relaxing a bit, unable to fight off his increasing sleepiness any longer.

"Thank you very much," he said.

"I should be thanking you," Native replied. In the background, he could hear Todoroki and Iida arguing over who should do what and who was most capable for the task. He smiled, he was just glad everything was over and that they were all relatively all right. "I have to apologize," Native continued as he carried him, "I'm supposed to be a pro, but I was useless back there."

"No, I don't think any one person can take the Hero Killer on," Izuku reassured him, "Not with that weird quirk of his. He's too strong."

"The three of us barely won against him, and even then it was because of his own mistakes," Izuku glanced down to see that Todoroki and Iida had joined them, "He was getting riled up and desperate and forgot all about Midoriya's quick recovery time. Then he wasn't able to block Iida's last Recipo burst or Midoriya's assault."

"Right, let's get him to the police as fast as we can," Native said once they exited the alley.

"What are you doing here boy!?" Izuku looked up and gasped in shock when he saw the disgruntled form of Gran Torino standing across the street from him.

"Gran Torino!" he exclaimed in surprise, he had to explain quick or he was done for, "I was only-" but he was cut off as Gran Torino shot forward and kicked him in the face.

"I thought I told you to stay on the bullet train!" he shouted, clearly furious.

"Who's this?" Todoroki asked, a bit confused.

"Gran Torino, the hero I'm interning with," Izuku explained his voice a bit weak, "I don't get it, how'd you find us?"

"I was told to come here by someone else," he responded, his hands on his hips, "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm glad you're not dead at least." Izuku sighed and hung his head.

"Me too, and I'm sorry," Izuku said, Gran Torino just scoffed.

"Around the corner!" a female voice shouted, causing them to turn. A group of heroes was approaching them, they seemed a bit confused.

"Endeavor told us that there was a request for help here but…"

"Children?"

"Those injuries look bad. I'll call an ambulance right away."

"Hey look!" one of them gasped in alarm, they did so and they each gasped as well in shock.

"Is that… the Hero Killer!?" Someone decided to call for the police while others inquired about their injuries. They were explaining they were fine but Iida was ignoring them.

"You guys," Iida said, bowing before Izuku and Todoroki, "You were both hurt because of me...I'm truly sorry," his voice was weak and wavery, overcome by emotion. "I was just so angry, I couldn't see anything else," his voice broke and Izuku could see tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry too, Iida," he said, "You were going through so much by yourself, but I couldn't tell anything was wrong. Even though I'm your friend." Iida, let out a small sob and several tears fell to the pavement.

"Hey, pull yourself together," Todoroki said, not unkindly, "You're the class rep." Iida sniffled and wiped away his tears, nodding.

"Right," Iida said and gave a small watery smile. Izuku smiled back at him.

"Get down!" Gran Torino suddenly shouted, they whirled around in alarm and saw a nomu with wings swooping down towards them. There was little time to react. One moment, Izuku was standing beside his friends, the next he was in the air. He was too stunned to move, he simply watched as the people below him who were shouting in confusion slowly grew more distant. He was just getting his bearings when suddenly the creature seemed to freeze in midair. He yelped as they began to plummet back towards the ground.

"The word hero has lost all meaning in this society! The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams!" Izuku was stunned to hear Stain's voice shouting. He looked over and saw the Hero Killer launching himself at the Nomu, a knife drawn and ready to kill. He must have escaped somehow and it must have been his quirk that froze it. Stain drove his knife into the nomu's brain and it crashed into the earth below. Stain grabbed Izuku and held onto him, not letting him get damaged in the fall. "You must all be purged," Izuku looked up at the Hero Killer who was now right beside him, in horror.

"Everything that I do," he twisted the knife and yanked it out of the dead Nomu, "Is to create a stronger society!" He knelt down next to Izuku and pressed him down so that he couldn't move. Izuku began to struggle underneath him but it was no use, he was too weak to fight back. "Endeavor…" Izuku heard the man hiss under his breath. He looked up and saw as the tattered mask over Stain's eyes began to fall loose, he was looking back at the crowd of heroes where Endeavor was now standing.

"Hero Killer!" Endeavor screamed, his body lighting up like a summer bonfire.

"Wait Todoroki!" Gran Torino yelled, Shoto's father froze and turned to look at the old man in confusion. Izuku looked up as the Hero Killer got to his feet and turned to face Endeavor. His mask had completely fallen off, revealing his face. His eyes were wild and saliva was dribbling down his chin. He looked completely mad in the moonlight.

"False hero!" he snarled, beginning to stumble forward. There was such a malevolent aura in the air, emanating from him like a sickly and burning energy, that it left them frozen, unable to move as he made his way closer to them. "I'll make this right! These streets must run with the blood of hypocrites! Hero! I will reclaim that word!" he slammed his foot down heavily, as though he were throwing down the gauntlet in front of the whole world, "Come on! Just try and stop me, you fakes!" Even Endeavor stood back now, "There is only one man I'll let kill me! He is a true hero! All Might is worthy!"

Suddenly the knife fell from his hand to the ground with a clang that seemed to echo down the streets and reverberate throughout the whole city. Stain had gone completely still, unable to move. Only showing the whites of his eyes that stared vacantly out at the world. They all gasped in astonishment, Stain was silent and still. Still no one dared to move for a solid minute, they were too overwhelmed by what had just happened.

"I think…" Endeavor began, slowly, "...he's out cold…"

* * *

**Luffy's fight was a bit hard to write at first because I didn't want him to just one shot his opponent, he's been itching for a decent fight for so long that it felt a bit cruel to make it too easy. The particular nomu he fought had several quirks: Super speed, shock absorption (hence why he was able to tank Luffy's punches more easily than he really should have) and of course enhanced strength. This was definitely one of the stronger nomus in Shigaraki's army, still it wasn't strong enough that Luffy had to go beyond gear 2nd. It did manage to give him a rather nasty wound so we'll see how that plays out later on. In other news, Stain has been defeated and thus the intro villain to this fic has finally fallen, allowing us to get into the real meat and potatoes of the story.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, leave a review if you feel so inclined and I hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, so this chapter is sort of a more relaxed chapter compared to the last one, it will focus more on recovery and winding down from the previous chapter's conflicts. **

**1) Orion (guest): Well that was a mixed review ha ha, thanks for commenting. Yeah, even as I was writing that it didn't really sit right with me *sigh*... sorry if that bothered you, I can see that a lot of you guys really care about the power levels and unfortunately I'm not as great as gauging that- especially when comparing two different series, but seeing as this is a crossover I should try to improve upon that. I'm really not trying to make Luffy seem weaker than he is and I'm sorry that it came off that way but that boy is just too strong for the story I want to tell lol. It's honestly been giving me a lot of trouble writing this, so I'm really grateful for the criticism as it's entirely fair. Hopefully, I can use this to improve upon later chapters, I have the next few chapters already written but I've edited them based on what some of you guys have been telling me so trust me your input is valuable. There are only about three more chapters I have to post until I'm caught up, but once I do, I think I can finally portray Luffy more accurately. Thanks again for the feedback, it's very helpful.**

**2) Mustardo: Yeah... I'll be honest, that was pretty tedious to write out. I didn't mean to make it seem like filler but I guess since it wasn't all that different from the manga that it did seem a bit pointless. Trust me, it wasn't all that fun to write it out for that reason and the same can be said for most scenes that are similar to the manga, I'll be skipping over those more as I go. I originally thought it would help the story flow a bit better, but clearly it was another miss step on my part. Thanks for the feedback, hopefully I'll do better in the future.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: The Aftermath

Luffy woke up the next morning not feeling great. That was to be expected though since he had been in a fight the previous night that had almost cost him a hand and given him several moderate injuries, though he wouldn't really classify them as that himself. He slowly opened his tired eyes, it sounded like someone was speaking to him, and wait was he being lifted up? What was happening? He pulled back and fell back to the ground and instantly regretted that move as all of his injuries yelled at him for jostling them. He heard the voice yet again and he blinked away some of the drowsiness and blurriness from his eyes. Someone was leaning over him.

"...I'm not going to hurt you, you're safe, we just need to get you to a doctor right away…" the voice was saying. It was definitely a man's voice, and he seemed oddly colorful, another hero? Wait, what was that about a doctor?

"No…'m fine…" he mumbled, closing his eyes again and hopefully going back to sleep. He had no intention of going to a hospital or any other doctor. Unless Chopper was there, but that was impossible.

"Hey kid, stay with me," the man said, gently tapping Luffy on the cheek. Luffy just groaned and adjusted his head so that it was in a more comfortable position. He had no idea why he was so tired, the fight last night hadn't been _that _intense. Then again he did lose a lot of blood from that stupid hand injury and also from the scratches on his middle, and he had gotten several other cuts from being thrown into a building and what not. All and all an average day for him really, he could easily sleep it off if they would just let him. He would be fine once he ate something, unfortunately without Chopper here he would probably have to cauterize his wounds again so he wasn't looking forward to that. Eh, he would worry about that later, he was a bit busy trying to sleep through this guy's annoying attempts to keep him up. He felt the man trying to lift him again and again he pulled away, kicking out and striking what felt like his shin.

"Hey we need a medic over here!" the man shouted and Luffy frowned. Why wouldn't he just leave him alone, he just wanted to sleep and get back to his special spot. "Listen the monsters are gone, they aren't going to hurt you anymore," the man said. Luffy was a bit confused, why did he sound so concerned?

"...lee me 'lone... tired…" Luffy heard the man sigh and he cracked open an eye to see him sit down beside him. Now that he got a better look at him, he could tell that the man was definitely a hero. He was wearing red and yellow and was wearing a mask that covered all of his face except for his chin and mouth.

"Alright, if you won't come with me, I'll wait here with you," the man said, "But you're going to have to do as I say," Luffy wrinkled his nose but the man seemed nice enough so he supposed he would listen...for a few minutes. The man reached forward and gently re-positioned him so that he was laying flat on his back. "I'm the Speed Hero: Blaze, I'm afraid my quirk won't do you much good but I do know some basic first aid," he took out some gauze and bandages from his utility belt and some medicines that Luffy didn't recognize. The man took Luffy's injured arm and examined it. Luffy winced.

"...ow…" he grumbled, more annoyed than anything. He wasn't a big fan of this.

"Sorry," Blaze said, "But this needs to be treated, you've lost a lot of blood... you're pretty banged up-but you'll be alright…I'll need to stop the bleeding..." he muttered as he examined the injury. Luffy just sighed, he had been through worse, this wasn't doing anything more than making him a bit sleepy. Blaze took the bandages he had pulled out and wrapped up his wrist. He frowned as they rapidly began to turn red and bleed through. He took a cloth and tied it around Luffy's forearm, he reached into his belt and took a metal stick and began to twist it. It was starting to feel a bit weird on his arm. "Your skin is very pliable, do you have a quirk?"

"...'m rubber…" he muttered in response. Blaze tied the weird bandage a bit tighter on his arm and then let it be. Luffy closed his eyes again, if all the man wanted was to treat his wounds then he would just go back to sleep.

"What happened?" Blaze asked, pulling him out of his near state of unconsciousness.

"...bird bastard...came outta nowhere…" he mumbled, somewhat annoyed that the man wasn't letting him rest. "...jerk bit me…" he moved his right hand to indicate that that had been how he had received that particular injury.

"Where were the heroes?" he began gently examining Luffy's head.

"...dunno...fighting...it was pretty cool…" he answered as Blaze lifted his head and began wrapping bandages around it.

"So, uh, do you want me to contact someone, I'm sure you're parents are worried about you," the man said as Luffy once again began to drift off.

"...no...don't got any…" he paused for a moment, "...I have a dad...but I don't know him...he's a dragon...no he is Dragon...Dragonish….sleepy…" he mumbled, it was a bit hard to think in his half asleep state and his words were coming out a bit garbled.

"I know it's hard but you should try to stay awake okay?" Blaze said calmly though his voice sounded concerned. Luffy nodded slightly but wasn't really listening. He just wanted to go back to bed, why did he have to be awake for this? "So who raised you then?"

"...Grandpa Garp...Garp-pa… he was a jerk though… so mostly Ace… we fought tigers…" he mumbled furrowing his brow as he spoke.

"Tigers?" Blaze sounded a bit confused. Luffy opened his eyes at the sound of running footprints, a young woman wearing medical garb and carrying equipment was hurrying towards them. Luffy closed his eyes again and relaxed, it was just a doctor or whatever. Well if they insisted, they could treat him if that's what they really wanted, it's not like it wasn't making him feel a bit better.

"What's wrong?" she asked, kneeling down next to them.

"He's got several deep cuts, I haven't found all of them, his right hand is in pretty bad shape, it's been nearly ripped off and he might have a concussion," Blaze explained to the woman, "I've been trying to keep him conscious but he keeps fading in and out, he seems a bit confused and he's lost a lot of blood".

"...'m fine...just need meat...wanna sleep…" he mumbled. Suddenly someone was forcing his eye open and shining a light in it, then the other. He flinched away a little at the light but he let them continue. Chopper did this sometimes, he wasn't sure why they did it but it was probably important.

"He's responding well to the light, I don't think he has a concussion. The fatigue and confusion is probably due to blood loss," she said. "Elevate his feet and put this blanket on him to keep his temperature from dropping." Blaze did as instructed and Luffy felt a soft fabric being draped over his middle. It was sort of like being tucked in, it was nice. The woman lifted up his hand and undid some of the bandaging, examining the wounds, "This is really bad, but it can be easily reattached," She began to push the severed part of his hand back to his wrist, it hurt at first but the pain was suddenly replaced with a strange tingling from his fingers all the way up his arm. He watched in amazement as the tendons, bone and muscle tissue slowly began to grow back.

"What quirk is that?" Blaze asked as he watched.

"Regrowth, I can stimulate minor tissue, bone and nerve growth in a concentrated area of the body, everything but skin. I specialize in reattachment and emergency aid," She said re-bandaging his wrist and removing the tourniquet from his forearm. Luffy blinked in amazement and a wide grin spread across his face.

"Hey! You fixed my arm!" he exclaimed in amazement, the woman gave him a small smile in return.

"I've reattached it but it's not entirely healed, it'll be tender for a few weeks and I'd advise not putting to much pressure on it," she explained but Luffy wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying. He lifted his hand and started moving his fingers, those hadn't been working too well for the past couple of hours. He laughed in delight. She gently lowered his hand back to the ground.

"Where else-"

"My stomach hurts too, can you fix that?" Luffy interrupted, the claw marks on his abdomen still stinging somewhat. The woman nodded and reached to attend to it but Luffy instead propped himself up on an elbow and began pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Whoa, hey don't strain yourself!" Blaze exclaimed but Luffy ignored him. He reached down and removed his shirt revealing his wounds before lowering himself back to the ground. There was a long silence. Luffy lay there impatiently a bit confused that they hadn't moved to treat him yet.

"Woah…" Blaze muttered under his breath.

"You gonna fix it?" he asked and they seemed to snap out of whatever was distracting them..

"Y-Yes! Of course!" the doctor exclaimed leaning down to examine his torso. There were three long gashes from the bottom of his rib-cage to just below his belly button. She opened up her kit and began cleaning his cuts. It stung a bit but that was to be expected, once again he closed his eyes and began to drift off. He faintly heard Blaze begin to try to grab his attention but he was interrupted by the medic, "It's alright, there's no head injury, you can let him sleep, it will help him heal faster." There was a pause as neither of them said anything. After several moments he felt that strange warm tingling in his stomach as she began to somewhat seal the cuts on his stomach. It felt good but it woke him up a bit as well.

"What's with those scars?" he heard Blaze ask quietly. He suddenly remembered the huge x-shaped scar that was carved into his chest. It was a deep reddish purple in color and despite having been two years it still wasn't quite healed all the way. It never would fully fade, a permanent reminder.

"I have no idea, this one looks like a burn mark," the medic answered as they both paused to examine it for a moment. Her finger then traced along the small burned over wound that had completely healed since he had treated it two days ago. "This one looks almost like a bullet wound, it's been sloppily treated and cauterized…" She gasped slightly as she examined his torso, "There are tons of scars here, they've faded but they're clearly there. Stab wounds...cuts...burns...what happened to this kid? They've been treated well though..."

"Chopper's a good doctor...very soft…" he mumbled and the two seemed to freeze as if they hadn't realized he was still awake. "least I can't break bones…" he laughed weakly and there was a short pause.

"Yeah...at least," Blaze said, but his voice sounded a bit strained.

"Here, lift him up so I can bandage this," the medic said and Blaze conformed, lifting Luffy up from under his arms and propping him up so that the woman could wrap the cloth bandages around his waist. "I can't properly seal his wounds, we'll have to get him to a hospital where we can fully treat him. Why didn't you bring him straight to an ambulance, he's in bad shape?"

"He kept trying to fight me, like I said he's a bit confused, I figured it might be safer for him if we treated him here and gained his confidence and then carried him back," Luffy frowned, he didn't like where this was going. He thought he had made it clear that he didn't want or need to get to a hospital. This treatment had been more than enough, he could take care of himself. Once they had finished bandaging him, he felt Blaze shifting so that he could once again lift him up. He wriggled and pushed himself out of his arms, landing heavily on his side.

"...No…" he insisted, "...No doctors...no hospital…" he heard Blaze sigh in exasperation.

"Listen, we only want to help you, we can't just leave you like this," Luffy just stubbornly shook his head and refused to move. "You're just confused due to the blood loss, if you come with us I promise everything will start to make sense okay?" Luffy wasn't confused at all, and he wasn't entirely sure why they kept insisting that. He guessed that they were the ones who were confused. He slowly sat up and steadily got to his feet.

"I'm fine," he articulated, he pushed through the dizziness as he often did and forced himself to speak clearly. In the grand scheme of things, these injuries weren't so severe and he had fought through worse, the only reason he had been giving into his fatigue before was because he knew he wasn't in immediate danger. Now these two were threatening to take him to a hospital where he would be poked and prodded at and asked questions he couldn't answer and only have more attention drawn to him. It would only be a hindrance to him and he couldn't afford that. He took a deep breath and shook his head, focusing all his energy and clearing his mind. He stood to his full height and pushed the pain from his mind.

"You shouldn't be standing! Please just lie back down and come with us," the medic pleaded. Luffy sighed, they really did seem like kind people. But if they wouldn't leave him alone he had no choice. He let loose a small wave of conqueror's haki and suddenly Blaze and the doctor were on the ground, unconscious. They wouldn't be out for long, he should probably get moving before they were up and about. He turned and began exiting the alley. It was uncomfortable to be sure and he was a bit nauseous but if he wanted, he was still strong enough that he could easily go for a round two.

* * *

"I'm coming to you live from Ekou street in Hosu City. Last night, just after 8 P.M., the Hero Killer Stain was arrested by Endeavor on this very blo-" Kurogiri shut the T.V off, every news channel seemed to be reporting the same thing.

"He's all they're talking about," Shigaraki muttered crumpling up the newspaper he was holding, "What about my nomus!?" he threw the paper and slammed his fist down on the counter in annoyance. "Not only have they not forgotten him, but we didn't even make the front page!" He narrowed his eyes. That damned Hero Killer, what did everyone find so fascinating about him? What had he done besides kill a couple of worthless, spineless heroes? Shigaraki had laid siege to the U.S.J with an army of villains and terrorized downtown Hosu with just four nomus. He had probably caused several casualties and mass destruction of property. There were still search and rescue teams out looking for people who had been caught in the crossfire.

"It's a shame, he would've made a good ally," Kurogiri said, Shigaraki glared at him. It had all been a disaster. All of the nomus he had sent had been destroyed, he hadn't even gotten to kill that annoying kid. "What of the boy, the one you said that our master had been interested in? You claimed that it was he who was watching the fight the other night?" Kurogiri asked, changing the subject.

"He killed the nomu, I don't know what his quirk is but _he _was right about him," he sighed in annoyance, "He passed the test."

"Shall I hire someone to track him down?" Kurogiri asked.

"I suppose," Shigaraki answered, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the images of All Might and the brat that followed him like a mindless duckling. One way or another, he would wipe them off the face of this world.

Izuku's cheeks were still a bit pink and his hands trembling somewhat. He couldn't believe he had just been casually talking to a girl, an actual girl, over the phone. Sure it had just been Ururaka and they were already good friends, but it still felt strange. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Despite needing to rely on a crutch, his cuts had healed up quite nicely and furthermore they weren't in too much trouble despite fighting a villain without a hero license. The police chief himself had told them that they wouldn't be receiving credit for the arrest but they had gotten a thank you from the entire department and honestly that was good enough for him. After all, being a hero wasn't about fame or praise, they had stopped a dangerous killer and saved dozens of lives. That was all he needed. He turned and began hobbling on his crutch back to his hospital room where Todoroki and Iida were still recovering.

"Oh, hey Iida!" he said as he slid open the door to the hospital wing and noticed that both of his friends seemed to be up and about, "I just talked to Ururaka-"

"Midoriya," Todoroki cut him off. Izuku stopped and looked at him in confusion, wondering what the problem was. "Iida just got his test results back." They both turned to Iida who was staring silently down at his bandaged arms which were still slung tightly to his chest.

"My left hand," he said softly, "It might have damage that's permanent."

"What? Permanent?" Izuku asked, his eyes going wide. This was terrible. It had just been one poor choice on Iida's part to chase after Stain, it shouldn't have to affect him for the rest of his life. How bad was it? Could he still use his hand, or would it be useless from now on? Could he even continue to be a hero after this? The thoughts raced through Izuku's mind like a bullet train.

"Both my arms were pretty torn up," Iida continued, he gently rubbed the spot on his left arm where he had received the injury, "But the injury to my left arm was especially severe. There was damage to my Brachial Plexus," Izuku gasped in alarm, that sounded bad, "Which just means...I'll have trouble moving my fingers and my hand might have some numbness," he reassured. "Apparently there's a chance that it could be healed with nerve transplant surgery." Izuku sighed, that was good at least. He paused though when Iida bowed his head, looking ashamed.

"When I came across the Hero Killer, I stopped thinking rationally," he said, thinking back on the events of the previous night, "The first thing I should've done was call Manual, but I got lost in my own anger. I hate him so much, but I can't deny he spoke the truth. That's why, until I'm able to call myself a real hero, I'll leave my left hand as it is." Both Izuku and Todoroki stared at his bold announcement.

"Are you sure?" Todoroki asked, Izuku frowned. He thought back to the days leading up to the incident last night. He should have seen how much Iida was struggling. _Maybe...if I'd been a better friend back then…_he pursed his lips, guilt welling up inside him. _No! Stop it! _He admonished himself, _he's already accepted what happened, it would be selfish to make this about me. _Izuku raised his hand and looked at the scars that showed how much he had damaged himself using One For All.

"Iida, I feel the same way," he announced, Iida looked up at him in surprise. Izuku formed his scarred hand into a fist, he would make his a reminder as well, "Let's get stronger, together," he vowed. He and Iida stared at each other and nodded, accepting the promise to grow stronger and become worthy heroes.

"I feel kind of bad," Todoroki added, both Izuku and Iida turned to look at him in surprise. He had practically saved the both of them the other night.

"About what?" Izuku voiced.

"Whenever I get involved, someone's hand gets all messed up." he said looking down at his own, "Is something wrong with me? Am I cursed?" Izuku and Iida stared at Todoroki baffled before bursting into laughter.

"Todoroki! I didn't know you had a sense of humor!" Izuku exclaimed. Todoroki frowned.

"This isn't a joke!" he shot back, "I'm like the 'hand crusher' or something!" that only made them laugh all the harder.

"The hand crusher!" They said in unison, unable to contain their mirth.

* * *

"Y'know, lately it's been hard finding people to do business with," the large man said as he leaned back in his seat and put the straw of his drink up to his lips, "My buddies all complain about not being able to sell stuff. It's a real pain."

"That's cause it's a serious crime to develop or sell support items and costumes if you don't have a license," the man across from him said as he examined the gun in his hands. He ran his fingers along the barrel of the gun. "On top of that there've been rumors that legit support communities have actually been selling extra gear on the black market to people who aren't certified heroes."

"Ugh, I miss the days before All Might!" The large man with the eye-patch exclaimed, throwing his head back in exasperation, "And I was still small-time back then. Remember when villains were wild and impulsive? Everyone thought they could take over the world. It was a real good time." The man sat forward and slammed his glass down on the table in front of him. "But when All Might showed up, everything changed and got so damn boring! Can't have any fun when that pillar of justice is around!" The man with the gun just smiled and held a cigarette up to his lips, lighting it with the tip of the gun which was more than just an ordinary weapon. "Maybe it's time for me to finally call it quits."

"Don't be rash," the smoking man responded coolly, "Listen, just between you and me, I know of a way to make some real cash," he began rummaging in his pocket, "Keep this on the down low, I'm only telling you this because I know your guys have quality goods to sell, have you seen this yet?" he held up his phone and showed a video.

"Huh? What's that?" the man asked, a bit confused.

"It's a video of the Hero Killer, he's hot right now," he played the video. The man's eyes widened as he watched and he gasped as the video came to an end. "This video keeps getting re-uploaded and immediately taken down online." he grinned, "Does it remind you of anything?"

"The Red Ravager…" the man muttered, "There was that video of that crazy villain who rampaged on the coast and it showed several heroes getting taken down! He destroyed an entire city block and even held his own against Endeavor and All Might! They kept trying to get it taken down but it was already worldwide… no one's heard from him in nearly two months…"

"Exactly," the man holding his phone grinned, "Remember the sudden spike in crime rates after that, the people's faith was shaken a bit after that incident and the villains grew confident. Now this guy comes along and he's really stirring something in people," his grin widened into something malevolent, "From villains with countless convictions, to felons on the run, all the major players including me are watching. What do you think would happen if the Red Ravager returned? Or another man such as Stain arose?"

"You think he might?" the man with the eye-patch asked, practically on the edge of his seat in excitement of the coming times.

"It's certainly a possibility. The Red Ravager inspired their confidence, Stain gave them a banner to rally under, it's becoming infectious. Do you feel it? I don't think the heroes realize what's awakening. The evil that was once quiet and scattered now has a rallying cry that's calling out to it. Individual criminals are seeking out the organization that the Hero Killer was connected to. They're all headed to the League of Villains."

"So you're saying I should invest my business in them?"

"I'm merely making a suggestion," the man leaned back and put his phone back in his pocket, "The times are changing, those who wish to survive must keep an eye on the clear pattern that is starting to form. All I know is that there are many who won't."

* * *

**Don't you just hate it when you're trying to sleep off your injuries and some overly nice people just won't let you cause they mistakenly think you're dying. Though to be fair, that's a decent assumption to make on their part as they assume he's just an ordinary civilian. Luffy's attempts to lay low aren't really working out too well as he already has the League of Villains and the cops/rescue teams keeping an eye on him, he's just too much of a trouble magnet. **

**Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review if you like and if not that's fine too.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Updates are probably going to slow down now, I have finals this week and I'm moving out of my dorm so I'm sort of busy. Not only that but we've almost caught up to what I have written so I'm gonna need time to write as well. Furthermore, I'm gonna try and get caught up on the BNHA manga before I continue writing so I can continue to plan out further chapters. Right now *minor spoilers BNHA manga just in case* I just finished the arc with Overhaul (wonder what Shigaraki is going to do with those drugs) and the mini-arc with Gentle who I found oddly endearing? So I'm pretty close, I think I only have like 30 chapters left or something. **

**1) Benjutsu: Oh yeah, definitely. After chapter 8 I pretty much learned my lesson. From here on out I'm gonna try to just jump over those scenes or at least modify them in someway, because it's really not fun to write out. Luffy's parts are definitely more enjoyable to write, so much so that I sometimes have to keep myself from laughing out loud at some of the silly ideas that run through my brain when I'm writing. **

**2) Feldoran: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it so far. As for Blaze, yeah, he's just a character that I made up on the spot for the scene. He's not all that strong, just one of the heroes who doesn't really take the spotlight but does a good enough job. Fun fact, I sort of pictured him to look like a cheap knock-off version of the Flash, so if you want a better picture of what he looks like, that's him. And yeah, Luffy's pretty lonely right now, hopefully this chapter alleviates that somewhat. **

**3) NoLife .mp3: Lol, I'll try my best to live up your expectations. Thanks for reading and I'm glad you're enjoying it. **

**4) Orion: Thank you for pointing out my error, I'll try better to keep the power scaling in mind. I already have some ideas that I can use in later chapters and conflicts, I'm excited to try them out. Thanks for reading!**

**5) Guest review: I can't say I like criticism, but I'm an adult so I should act like it and accept my shortcomings, I appreciate people trying to help out with my story even if I don't necessarily like what they have to say. As long as they give good reasoning and act maturely about it, I can listen and be open minded about it. Constructive criticism is sometimes necessary for a story to improve. So thank you for offering your input. I do appreciate it. **

**6) Lightningblade49: The interactions between Izuku and Luffy was one of the main inspirations for this fic in the first place so there will definitely be more of that. As for the Red Ravager and Luffy's interactions with heroes, one of my favorite things about One Piece is just the idea that Luffy is one of the most notorious and feared pirates in the world but when people meet him, he's just this smiley teenage boy in a farm hat and jorts. Like he's definitely not a character you would expect to be as powerful or dangerous as he is, and that contradiction just make me laugh. As for whether or not he'll join the League, you'll have to wait and see lol. Thanks for reading!**

**7)GrimmjowTaichou: Thanks for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Convergence

It had only been a day since Izuku had been discharged from the hospital and his mother had refused to let him out of her sight. He had been lectured, scolded and hugged so many times that he was beginning to wonder if his mom had had a nervous breakdown. He had to admit, he felt a bit guilty about not even considering what he was putting her through emotionally but it wasn't as though he could just have left Iida to face Stain alone. Once she had found out what he had been up to she had been shifting back and forth between being furious with him and being immensely proud of him. It was sort of terrifying. He rolled over in his bed, his injuries had been mostly healed by now thanks to Recovery Girl and he didn't really need to be bedridden, but his mother insisted that he stay in his room for the next few days regardless. He sighed, this was going to be a long couple of days, but at least he could catch up on some of the manga he hadn't had time to read. There was a knock at his door.

"Izuku, sweetie," it was his mother, she poked her head inside his room, "I'm going to run to the store real quick, there are leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry okay? There's also some tea ready on the stove," he nodded.

"Okay, thanks mom," she smiled at him and closed the door behind her. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. The last couple of days had been so hectic, it didn't even feel real. When he thought back on it, if he hadn't had the scars to prove it had happened, he would have thought it had all been some wild dream. He had actually taken down a villain, not just any villain, the Hero Killer. It was all too much, he was lucky to still be alive. He sat up and reached over to the magazines that were piled on his nightstand, he was still several issues behind. He sorted through them and picked the last one he remembered reading, and set it down on his bed before sliding out of it.

He exited his room and entered the kitchen where the kettle still sat on the stove. He grabbed a small cup from one of the cabinets and poured himself a small serving of the green tea his mother had made. Despite not really needing the next few days off, it was kind of relaxing to know that he would have some time to himself. With how stressful everything had been and his general anxiety, he needed some time to unwind. He brought the cup with him, gently blowing on the still steaming liquid as he made his way back to his room. He carefully climbed back into his bed and set the cup down on the nightstand as he picked up the magazine. He did a quick round of eeny-meeny-miny-moe to determine which he would read through first and settled on _Phantom_ _L__ord_. It wasn't his favorite comic and it was a bit too edgy for his tastes but he still found it to be a good read.

"No! Why is there a cliffhanger!?" he cried in frustration as he put down the last chapter he had to catch up on. Of all the weeks to end on a cliffhanger it had to be this one. He moaned and collapsed backwards in his bed, it had just been getting really good too. The phantom lord had just kidnapped the king of the hinterland's betrothed and it was up to Thornspeaker to find out who the traitor in the king's court was. Izuku loved a good mystery and it had just implicated that it was the King's own brother who had been the traitor which was a major plot twist. For it to end now was absolutely frustrating. He reached for his tea to take a sip but found his cup to be empty. Why was life fraught with disappointment? He sat back up and climbed out of bed, careful not to put too much pressure on his injured leg which was still a bit sore despite having been scarred over.

When he entered the kitchen to refill his cup, he noticed that the trashcan was full. He might as well take that out before his mom got home so that she didn't have to. She always seemed so busy and he still felt bad about scaring her. He put his cup down on the counter, threw on a small jacket so that he wouldn't be shirtless, and hoisted the trash bag out of the can, throwing it over his shoulder so that he could better carry it. He still felt a bit weak after the fight, but what better way to start getting back into shape than with a little physical exercise. He made his way outside and down the street to where the dumpster was, tossing the bag into the bin. He dusted his hands off and turned to the mailbox, he might as well get the mail while he was at it. He opened the box and pulled out a few letters as well as several magazines and advertisements. He would leave these on the counter for his mom when she got home and-

"Oi!" he heard a somewhat familiar voice calling, he looked up and began searching for the source, "Izu!" he whirled around. There he was, running down the sidewalk and waving his hand in the air to get his attention, a big happy grin on his face. Izuku blinked in surprise, he hadn't been expecting to see him of all people, especially not where he lived. How had he found him?

"Luffy?" he asked a bit confused, the boy laughed and came to a stop in front of him.

"Ha ha ha! What are you doing here?" he asked, panting a bit from his jog.

"I live here," he answered, Luffy blinked and looked at the building that Izuku called home. Then he glanced back at Izuku.

"You do? I thought you lived in that building next to the burrito alley?" he asked. Izuku shook his head and laughed a bit at the nickname Luffy had come up for the alley next to Gran Torino's home.

"No, I was just interning there," he paused for a moment, "what are you doing here?" Luffy just shrugged, he seemed a bit different from the last time Izuku had seen him, a bit less energetic. He looked him up and down. The shirt for one thing was much more dirty and tattered, as though he had found this one in a dumpster, his head was bandaged and the part beside his right temple was stained red with blood. His right hand was also bandaged tightly although that too was bleeding red. Along with that he had several cuts and scrapes all up the length of his body as well as a fine layer of dirt and he was looking a bit pale.

"I'm kinda lost, it's fine though," he said, "I tried taking the bus and then the train but they're hard to figure out. I figured I'd just walk until I ended up back under my bridge but then I saw you and I had to say hi!" Luffy grinned, he seemed to be acting awfully calm despite how terrible he looked. Izuku nodded but he couldn't return the grin.

"Luffy, what happened to you? You look awful!" He pointed out and Luffy looked down at himself before laughing.

"Oh yeah, I guess I need a bath huh," he threw his head back and laughed, "I hate baths, they make me too tired and I always pass out and then I accidentally start drowning!" Izuku frowned, that was not what he had meant at all. He shook his head, he had to remind himself that Luffy had a strange way of talking that was almost intentionally evasive and somewhat riddle like. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this he had to be more direct.

"I meant-"

"OH!" Luffy suddenly shouted, cutting him off. "I saw you a few days ago! At the fight!"

"The fight?"

"Yeah! It was pretty cool, there were all these bird monsters and heroes were beating them up left and right!" he exclaimed, punching the air as if mimicking the heroes' moves. _Bird monsters? Does he mean…_

"Are you talking about the nomus?" Izuku asked, his eyes growing a bit wide. Luffy had been there? What was he doing in Hosu City, is that where he had been hurt?

"Nomus? Is that what they're called?" Luffy asked, looking a bit perplexed, he shrugged, "I guess so. I was watching the fight and then you showed up and I thought you were gonna start fighting too! I tried to get your attention but I guess you didn't hear me! Shi shi shi! That's fine though, you ran off anyway!"

"You stayed and watched the entire fight, that's incredibly dangerous!" Izuku exclaimed in astonishment. He was still somewhat surprised to hear that Luffy had been within speaking distance of him during that chaos and he hadn't noticed.

"Shi shi shi! Yeah, it was a real good fight too! Then it got kinda boring... That's when I realized I was lost!" Luffy paused and began looking around as if suddenly remembering that his goal was, in fact, to get back to his spot beneath the bridge. "By the way, do you know how to get back there...it's a bit…" he paused a bit and blinked a few times before continuing, "...the buses are hard…" Izuku frowned, as they had talked Luffy had grown increasingly paler in shade. That wasn't a good sign, but he seemed to be acting fine-for the most part anyway, so he shook it off.

"Yeah, the bus systems can be a bit confusing, I can draw a map for you if you'd like," Izuku offered, "You want to get back to the… uh… burrito alley right?" Luffy grinned and nodded though he seemed a bit less enthusiastic than he had been just a few moments ago.

"Yeah…!" he said, then he paused for a moment. His grin turned into a frown. "Wait that won't work, I'm no good at maps…" he began blinking again, and he shook his head a bit. He swayed a bit on his feet but he seemed to catch himself.

"Hey Luffy, are you sure you're okay?" Izuku asked, Luffy just smiled and raised a hand to wave off his concerns.

"I'm fine… just need to…" he teetered awkwardly and stumbled forward. Izuku shot forward and caught him just before he hit the ground.

"Luffy!" he cried in alarm, he pulled him back to his feet but Luffy seemed out of it. His eyes were glazed over and he was sweating a bit. There was a loud growl from his stomach and the boy put his hand to it. Luffy shook his head again, regaining some alertness and tried to right himself, pushing himself out of Izuku's hold. He got to his feet again and chuckled slightly.

"Whoa, I must really be hungry! Sorry about that!" he said, way too cheerfully despite the fact that he had nearly passed out.

"You look like crap! You're seriously not okay!" Izuku exclaimed, "At least come inside and lay down for a few minutes okay!?" Luffy was about to protest but then he changed his mind and nodded.

"K Izu," he said, "Just for a quick nap though." he walked Luffy back through the front door of his home and into the living room. Despite insisting he was fine, he laid down on the couch, the instant it came into his sight. He must have been exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillow he closed his eyes and seemed to pass out. Izuku sat down heavily on the couch adjacent to him. What should he do in this situation? Luffy seemed pretty injured. Call an ambulance maybe?

"Thirsty, you got any water?" Luffy asked, his eyes were still closed but his voice sounded alert enough. He must have been powering through his exhaustion and hunger for several days now.

"U-uh yeah! S-sure!" Izuku exclaimed, he rushed over to the kitchen and quickly grabbed a glass of water and brought it over to his relatively new friend. Luffy reached up and after taking the glass, downed it all in one gulp. "I'm gonna call for an ambulance okay!?" Izuku announced, rushing to grab his phone.

"Don't," Luffy said, causing Izuku to nearly drop his phone surprise.

"No? Why not!? You're like dying!" Izuku exclaimed, he was starting to panic a bit. He was completely unfamiliar with this situation. If Luffy were in trouble with, say, a villain of some sort, then he could leap into action with One For All. That wasn't the case however, his friend was quite sick and he couldn't exactly Detroit Smash the illness out of him. They hadn't covered this part of training in school yet, it was really stressing him out.

"Pffft!" he scoffed as though the idea of him dying from this was foolish. "Bad idea…" he yawned, starting to slip into unconsciousness, "...please...no hospital...no doctors…" Izuku looked at the pale face of his friend. It was strange to refer to him as that given that they knew nothing about one another, but he really had grown on him in the short time they had met one another and the term felt right. He looked so earnest, not quite desperate, but there was something in his tone of voice that made Izuku want to trust him. He looked down at his phone and sighed.

"Okay," he said despite his better judgement, "But you better not die on me okay!?" Luffy just grinned and let out a soft chuckle.

"'Course not...!" he muttered, then the smile faded away as he passed out completely.

"Luffy?" Izuku asked tentatively, there was no response. At least he was getting some rest now... This had all happened so fast, this definitely hadn't been where he had expected his day to go. He had just gone to take out the trash, and now his friend's well being was in his hands. He took a deep breath to reassure himself, everything would be okay, he could do this. Luffy needed his help and he'd be damned if he failed him.

"Okay...uh… let's see," he knelt down next to the couch where Luffy was sleeping. He put his hand up to the boy's face and felt his skin, it was a bit warm but at the same time it was damp and a bit clammy. He headed into the kitchen and grabbed the thermometer, quickly taking his temperature. He was running a slight fever. It wasn't too bad, nothing life threatening. Izuku figured he could bring it down with some tylenol or ibuprofen. He looked the boy over again, he had several injuries that seemed to still be bleeding somewhat heavily. Those would probably be the first thing he should tend to. He lifted Luffy's right hand which was resting on his chest. He rolled up the sleeve of the hoodie Luffy was wearing so he could get a better look at the damage. The bandages spread up from the palm of his hand to the middle of his forearm, it was slick with blood and Izuku's own hands were damp just from holding it. The bandages clearly hadn't been changed for several days. He took a deep breath and began to unravel the cloth from around the wound, mentally preparing himself for the injury.

"Oh my god…" he muttered, gagging at the smell. There was something very wrong here. First of all, Luffy's wrist was mangled so badly it barely looked like a wrist anymore. There was evidence that the hand itself had been reattached to his body as though it had been ripped off entirely. Furthermore, the entire area was red and swollen and seemed to be radiating heat as though this were the source of the fever that was ailing him. Izuku might not be a doctor, but he knew infection when he saw it. He nearly dropped the limb but thought better of it and gently laid it back down on Luffy's chest. He ran to the bathroom and grabbed all the medical supplies he could find as well as a tub he filled with warm clean water. He needed to clean the wrist. He returned to Luffy's side and took a small washcloth, dunked it in the water and gently began dabbing at the infected cuts, cleaning away the dried blood and pus that was crusted around it. He gagged several times but he managed to keep himself together as he did this. Despite how painful the injury must be, Luffy seemed relatively indifferent to it which was kind of impressive.

Once the wound was mostly clean, he held Luffy's arm over the tub and took out a bottle of disinfectant. He wasn't sure how effective it would be in fighting the infection but hopefully it would slow the spread and help Luffy's body fight it off. He opened the bottle and braced himself, he winced this was going to sting like hell. He gently poured the liquid over the wounds and immediately the liquid began to bubble and foam within the cuts as it interacted with the pus and bacteria in Luffy's arm. Luffy's eyes shot open and he jolted forward, letting out a yelp of pain as he yanked his arm out of Izuku's grip and held it close to his chest.

"Damn it!" he hissed through gritted teeth, his face twisted in pain.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Izuku exclaimed, he felt awful but it was necessary. Luffy glared at him though he could tell he wasn't really mad, just trying to push through the pain.

"It's fine," he said, his voice a bit strained, "It doesn't hurt…" that was so obviously a lie, it wasn't even funny. After a few seconds, the pain seemed to fade a bit and Luffy slowly relaxed. He began to lay back against the couch again and let Izuku take his arm again. Izuku reached and grabbed the glass of water and began to pour the cool liquid over the injury, rinsing out the pus and blood that was in the cuts. Luffy sighed a bit as it obviously felt good against his stinging and feverish skin. Finally Izuku placed gauze laced with antibiotic cream around the arm and bandaged it, holding it together with medical tape. Okay that was one injury down.

"Thanks Izu," Luffy said, "You're good at this, you a doctor?"

"No way! I have no idea what I'm doing!" he exclaimed as he helped Luffy sit up again, "Honestly, you really should just go to a hospital!" Luffy shook his head but said nothing. Izuku sighed and undid the bandage that was wrapped around Luffy's head. This one looked much better, it was bleeding a bit heavily but it was nothing as serious as the arm. He cleaned off this wound as well before re-bandaging it.

"...Stomach too…" Luffy said, pulling up the hem of the hoodie he was wearing to reveal the several bandages wrapped around his waist. They too had bled through and were crusted over. Izuku reached into the kit and grabbed the scissors, cutting through the bandages as Luffy held up the sweatshirt for him. He peeled away the cloth that was somewhat stuck to him and winced yet again when he saw the wound. Three long gashes tore up the length of his abdomen. They had closed somewhat but they were nowhere near healed and they too seemed to be a bit infected, though not nearly as bad as Luffy's wrist. Izuku grabbed the washcloth and once again began to dab at the wound to clean it off. He just hoped that the blood and pus wouldn't stain his couch, his mother would kill him.

"Jeez Luffy, what happened to you?" he asked as he finished cleaning blood off and readied the disinfectant.

"I fought one of those bird guys, real bastard, nearly bit my arm off… but I beat 'im…" Luffy said, watching patiently as Izuku worked. Izuku paused and stared at him in amazement.

"You fought a nomu!?" he cried, incredulous. No wonder he was so beat up, those things were designed to fight All Might. That Luffy could claim he had fought one and come out on top was nearly impossible to believe, but he had the scars to prove it. After all he had bite and claw marks that were consistent with something of monster like proportions. It hadn't been a wild animal attack and there was no way a normal human could have done this, leaving his story to be the only possible explanation.

"Yeah," he said, not elaborating as Izuku had hoped he would. Izuku just stared at him in bewilderment.

"Why didn't you just leave? Why did you try to fight one of those things?!"

"Hey, he attacked me!" Luffy said defensively, "I was trying to get back but he came outta nowhere and punched me! Good thing I'm rubber though right!? Told ya you can't hurt me by-hey!" he snapped as Izuku accidentally jabbed too close to his wound.

"You're lucky you survived! That thing could've killed you, it almost did given how bad your injuries are!" Izuku said and Luffy looked down at his bandaged body.

"Really? Huh…" he paused, "Nah, I don't think so, I'm pretty strong. This is nothing really." Izuku just sighed and shook his head. No matter how you tried, there was no cure for stupidity was there? He finished bandaging Luffy's stomach and pulled down his hoodie again. He bent over and grabbed all the old bandages that were now lying on the floor beside the couch and carried them over to the trash can where he tossed them. He slowly began putting away the medical supplies and washed his hands. When he came back to the living room, he found that Luffy had laid back down and had his eyes closed, he wondered if he had passed out again. He sat down on the love seat next to the sofa and sighed in relief. He hadn't exactly healed Luffy yet, but at least he looked a bit better than he had a few minutes ago. He stared at his sleeping form and he was confused by how peaceful he looked. Luffy, as far as he could tell was a somewhat cocky and confident kid who was used to taking care of himself. He was strong in will as well as in form and to see him passed out on his living room couch so carelessly despite his injuries just seemed to reinforce those conclusions.

"Oh man…" his eyes went wide as he suddenly realized that there was a teenage boy, grievously injured, passed out on his couch. His mother would be home any minute now! What would she say, how would she react, what would she do!? She would call for an ambulance right away and Izuku would probably get yelled at again for neglecting to do so. There was no way she would accept Luffy's wishes and would send him straight to the hospital. He couldn't let her find him, but at the same time he couldn't just send him back out to the streets. He sighed, since when had this become E.T? He drew closer to the sleeping Luffy and gently shook him.

"Hey, Luffy!" he said gently but firmly. Luffy shifted slightly and slowly opened his eyes, he looked a bit confused.

"Hmm…?" Luffy asked as he slowly sat up.

"We have to get you out of here," Izuku said and Luffy paused for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I should probably get on my way," Luffy got to his feet and shuffled a few feet before Izuku caught him by the shoulder.

"No that's not what I meant!" Izuku said frantically, trying to keep Luffy from wandering off half dead. Luffy just looked at him confused. "Look just come with me," Izuku said and Luffy shrugged, and followed him down the hall to his bedroom. Izuku glanced around for a place he could hide him, the only decent space was his closet. He led Luffy to the closet door and opened it, revealing a small space that was just large enough for someone to sleep in if they weren't claustrophobic. "You can stay here for a couple nights if you like, just be quiet and don't let my mom find you okay?" Izuku said helping Luffy lay down on the floor of the closet.

"Really? Thanks!" he said, grinning. Izuku grabbed a spare pillow off of his bed and a small blanket that he didn't need and gave them to Luffy. Luffy took them and without thinking twice, laid down on the floor and covered himself in the blanket. Almost immediately he passed out again. Izuku sighed with relief that he had been able to do all of this without his mom interrupting them, he began to slide the closet door closed when Luffy stopped him. "...You're a good guy, you know that…?" he mumbled, Izuku felt his cheeks turn pink and he looked away a bit flustered.

"T-thanks!" he stuttered, Luffy just laughed softly before going quiet. Izuku closed the closet and climbed back in bed. Laying back against the pillows, he let all the stress he had been feeling melt from his body. The front door opened.

"Izuku I'm home, dinner will be ready in half an hour okay?" his mother called. They had been just in time.

"K!" he called back and he let out a long sigh of relief, he had managed to get away with it.

* * *

Luffy closed his eyes and relaxed in the darkness of Izu's closet. It had been a while since he had slept somewhere so warm and cozy. Usually he was out on the cold hard earth, which was fine since he was used to it, but it was nice to have something soft beneath his head and a warm blanket tucked around him. It reminded him of his bunk on the Thousand Sunny and he felt a slight twinge of homesickness. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness now for a while and he wasn't really sure whether if it was night or day. He supposed it didn't really matter either way. He heard voices, one was Izu and the other was a woman he didn't recognize. He had mentioned a mother, was that her? He rolled over, careful to not accidentally roll onto his right arm and make it worse somehow. If he could just get some sleep he was sure that all his injuries would fade away like they usually did. He wondered if Izu knew how to do stitches...whatever he'd ask him later.

A small knock at the door woke him from his nap. He opened his eyes and blinked, for a moment he couldn't remember where he was and he began looking around the room for something he could recognize. It was too dark in there to see anything so he strained his ears. It was mostly quiet, there was a faint hum that he wasn't very familiar with and it reminded him of the sound of the kitchen on the sunny. He suddenly wondered if he had fallen asleep in the pantry of the Sunny after a midnight raid. Had he eaten all the provisions on the ship again? Oh no, the knock had been Sanji trying to get the door open, he was going to kill him when he got inside. Luffy tensed slightly, ready to hightail it out of there as he heard the door slide open behind him. The room he was in was suddenly bathed in light.

"Luffy, you awake?" a voice whispered, Luffy relaxed slightly. That definitely wasn't Sanji. He rolled over to face the person who was hovering over him. With his good arm, he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and slowly remembered where he was and what was happening. Izu was kneeling beside him, holding a bowl of something that smelled delicious. "Sorry to make you wait so long for dinner, I had to wait for my mom to go to bed before I was able to sneak you some leftovers," he explained.

"Izu..?" he mumbled still a little disoriented. It was a little disappointing that he was still here he supposed and not back on the Sunny like he had thought for a moment. Whatever, there was no use dwelling on what could be, he had to keep his head here in the present.

"Yeah, what is it, are you feeling worse?" Izu asked, sounding concerned. This place was full of nice people: first Natsuki, then Blaze and that medic and now Izu. They all were trying to help him and it was kind of weirding him out, not that he didn't appreciate it. Luffy shook his head and took the bowl that Izu was handing him. He put a spoonful in his mouth and immediately his taste buds were overwhelmed with flavor. His eyes lit up as he was suddenly reminded of how hungry he was and soon he was shoveling down the noodles like he hadn't eaten before in his life. He practically licked the bowl clean. "You… uh… want any more?" Luffy nodded vigorously and smiled as he held out the bowl to Izu.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed, already his head was feeling a bit clearer, it just went to show what a few days without eating could do. Izu took the empty bowl and returned a few minutes later carrying a new serving and a glass of water. He handed the bowl to Luffy who downed it just as rapidly as the first and set the water down on the ground next to him. As Luffy ate, Izu put a tentative hand to his forehead and frowned. Luffy almost laughed at how concerned he seemed to be. He was a real worry-wart wasn't he.

"I have some pain relievers and some vitamins if you want," Izu offered, "they're supposed to boost your immune system but I don't know how well they work," he explained.

"Sure!" Luffy said, not one to turn down any help offered to him.

"Here, take these," Izu handed him several pills. Luffy took them and popped them into his mouth, he was no stranger to having to take various medicines. Chopper usually tried to make his taste like candy though and these tasted pretty bland. He used the remaining water in the glass to swallow them whole and he handed the empty cup to Izu. He started getting to his feet, with the rest and the food he was able to stand up fairly revitalized and he felt that his alertness was increasing as well.

"Where's your bathroom?" Luffy asked.

"Oh uh, it's down the hall but be careful not to wake my mom…" Izu answered and Luffy began to make his way to the hall. "Hey, you should probably take a shower or something if you think you're up to it, you're pretty filthy," Luffy nodded, "I can let you borrow some of my clothes and I'll put yours in the laundry, just be careful, put plastic around your arm or something I don't know if you should get it wet. I think your stomach should be fine though, I don't know for sure I'm not a doctor, but the soap might agitate it and maybe you should make the shower cold because you have a fever, but that might be bad for your immune system. What if you pass out in the shower though, that would be really bad, maybe if we..." Luffy just stared at him, he was talking too fast for him to keep up, especially with his tired brain. Izu paused and then jumped as if he realizing something and his cheeks turned pink.

"Sorry, I was rambling again, I do that sometimes," he sighed and began heading out of the room, "hang on, I'll be right back." When Izu returned he was carrying several items of clothing, a plastic zip lock bag, and a towel. He placed the bag around Luffy's wrist and tied it so that the soapy water wouldn't agitate the wound. "Here's a change of clothes and a towel," he handed them to Luffy who took them and grinned.

"You're a funny guy Izu, you worry too much. It's just a shower," Izu blushed again and awkwardly put his hand behind his head and looked away.

"It's just… you really freaked me out earlier, sorry," he said and Luffy's smile vanished.

"I did? Sorry," he looked down at his hand and shrugged, "Eh, it'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've almost lost my hand, I almost ripped both of them off once," he added, matter of factly. Izu's eyes went wide, he looked like an owl when he did that, it was kind of funny.

"What!? How!?" Luffy just shrugged.

"Eh, I was trapped and the only way to get out was to rip my arms off," he laughed heartily at Izu's look of disbelief, "Good thing I didn't have to do that though, right!?"

"Yeah...good thing…" Izu said, his voice weak. Luffy chuckled and began making his way to the bathroom. He wasn't feeling great but he was energized enough to laugh and take care of himself for a bit.

When he finally stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror, he realized what mess he had been. It had been several months since he had last really cleaned himself and now that he was fresh out of the shower he realized just how much of a difference that made. He looked a little less like a walking corpse now though he was still quite pale looking. His hair, now weighed down by the water, was an inch or so longer than it was when he had last looked in a mirror. He ran a hand through his now soft and non-greasy locks and grinned, he felt a bit more like himself. He smelled quite a bit nicer as well so that was good. He grabbed the clothes that Izu had leant him which were a pair of red flannel pajama pants and an All Might brand sweatshirt that was surprisingly warm and soft. Once he finished changing he quietly made his way back down the hall and reentered Izu's room, where Izu was sitting on his bed reading a magazine.

"Hey is that a comic book?" Luffy asked, startling Izu and causing him to jump. He giggled as Izu accidentally dropped the comic off the bed and had to reach down and grab it.

"Yeah! Uh manga, do you read any?" he asked and Luffy shook his head.

"Nah, not really but some friends of mine really like comics," he said dropping his clothes in the dirty hamper where Izu had instructed him to earlier. "I was just curious. By the way, I think the stuff you gave me is working, I feel a bit better now!" He plopped down on the floor in the little spot in the closet they had made his temporary bed. Izu smiled.

"Really? Glad to hear it," he got down from his bed and approached Luffy. "Speaking of feeling better though, I think we should change your bandages. It's been a couple hours," Luffy frowned slightly.

"Has it?" To him it only felt like a few minutes since he arrived at Izu's house but he supposed that it was dark out.

"Yeah, it's almost midnight," Izu replied, removing the plastic baggie from Luffy's wrist. Luffy just sighed, he had the worst sense of time. To be honest the only way he thought of time was as 'now' and 'not now', which really wasn't all that useful in the grand scheme of things. The instant Izu was finished he laid down and put his head on the pillow, pulling up the blanket to cover him.

"If you need anything, just ask, you can wake me up if you need to," Izu said getting to his feet. Luffy nodded, and yawned.

"Sure thing, Izu," he closed his eyes and began to relax.

"Uh yeah, well… night then… I guess," Izu said a bit awkwardly.

"Night!" Luffy replied, already half asleep. The room grew noticeably darker as Izu slid the door to his closet shut. Almost immediately, Luffy drifted off into sleep.

* * *

**Poor Izuku, he was really looking forward to a few days rest but Luffy crashed into his life as he is wont to do and only added more stress. These next few chapters will be a little bit more character oriented and will focus mostly on the forming friendship between the two of them. Also thank god Luffy finally took a shower, its been two months. Ugh, can you imagine how filthy he must have been? **


	11. Chapter 11

**So that was a bit of a break, the gaps between updates will probably be about this length from now on but if I get into a particularly write-y mood I might upload several chapters at once again. As for now here's the next chapter, it's a bit slow again, still focusing on the growing friendship between Izuku and Luffy and what not. **

**1) Elementor3358: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, as for Luffy's multiple abilities, I have a very specific idea in mind for how that is involved in the story. Izuku right now is very intrigued by Luffy and his eccentricities, but he's not thinking too much of who he might be at the moment. For now, he just thinks he's a strange homeless kid with some mental issues and a friendly attitude. **

**2) nick222238: I didn't realize the spelling error, thanks for pointing it out. Essentially the first few chapters so far have been mostly set up for the story I have been wanting to tell. Essentially this entire fic is a sort of thought experiment- if Luffy suddenly appeared in BNHA how would he affect the story? Not so much at first but eventually he would begin really effecting the plot but not enough to really derail the story. So yeah, there sort have been two different plots, but I'm trying to eventually weave them together so that they begin to affect one another and form a larger narrative. We just haven't really gotten there yet. **

**3)DP-Observant69: I've already explained that I'm not the best at power scaling so I might have made a blunder here or there, but it's something I've been trying to get better at. As far as I've been able to tell in OP, strength isn't always the determining factor in a fight, Monet said it herself on Punk Hazard, there are certain weaknesses and strengths that can also determine an outcome. If strength was the only determining factor, Luffy shouldn't have beat Crocodile and he definitely shouldn't have beat Eneru but due to how their abilities work, he was able to do so. Luffy has always been resistant to blunt attacks and his Haki also helps with that as well as elemental attacks like fire, but he has a weakness to sharp objects as seen on Fishman island where Hody was able to easily bite through Luffy's haki and he even mentioned that he is not the best at warding off sharp objects. Granted he's gotten stronger since then but it's a weakness I keep in mind. That and his cockiness which has lead to defeat on several occasions against both strong and weak opponents (he nearly lost to Monet and Caesar because he underestimated them). I do admit though that I might have made the nomu stronger than he should have been and that was an error on my part. **

**4) Metalbatt: Thanks! A lot of people have been saying that I've been pretty good at keeping them in character so the character interactions are definitely something I'm going to focus on lol. As for asking Izuku to join his crew, I can't believe that aspect of Luffy completely slipped my mind! And I call myself a One Piece fan, for shame! Lol, you're right that is something that Luffy would absolutely say and I'll have to remember that for later chapters.**

**5) jjcoop95: Okay, I just have to say you're comment legitimately made me laugh out loud. Too true that statement is. That might not have been a skull joke but that deserves a Yohoho all the same. **

**6) doesthiscountasausername: I meant to reply to this last chapter, but thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far! As for the coffee shop lady, I like her too! She might not be an essential character to the plot but I do try to keep all the characters I introduce in mind for later plot points. As a matter of fact at the moment she's still searching for Luffy, she has no idea whether or not he's still alive but even though the official search has died down she still hands out flyers and continues inquiring about him. She's a bit afraid that if she doesn't search for him, then no one will and he will have died alone and forgotten. Hopefully they find each other again and he gets to tell her that he's alright. I think it would be a sweet little reunion. **

* * *

Chapter 11: The Secret

Luffy slept for the next two days. In that time, Izuku had done his best to wake him but ultimately his efforts proved to be fruitless. The most he would get was when he brought the boy food and even then it was only enough to rouse him into a semi-conscious state which only enabled him to eat but not converse or do anything otherwise. As it was, Izuku did his best to change his bandages and keep his wounds clean. He found that he had to regularly clean and disinfect the gashes on Luffy's wrist or they would fill up with a disgusting and putrid discharge that would crust over if not properly dealt with. He also regularly checked his temperature and it seemed to be hovering at roughly 102ᐤF (38.8ᐤC) and only dropped when he gave him ibuprofen but it never fell below 100ᐤF (37.7ᐤC). It had definitely risen since the first night he had stayed with him but beyond that it hadn't gotten any worse. However, he didn't seem to be getting any better either.

He just hoped that Luffy would wake up from this coma like state soon, he wasn't sure if he was a deep sleeper or if this was just a sign of how bad things were. He was sometimes tempted to just go ahead and tell his mother so that they could get him to a doctor, but then he remembered the earnest look on Luffy's face when he had asked him not to and he couldn't bring himself to betray his trust like that. The injuries did not seem to be healing or getting better in any way. In this time, Izuku's own cuts and bruises were practically fully healed and he no longer limped when he walked. He wasn't sure what to do, he had school starting tomorrow but he was sort of afraid to just leave Luffy on his own like this. What if his mom found him, or what if something suddenly went wrong and Luffy's condition worsened.

"...no...wasn't me...Usopp did it…" Luffy mumbled in his sleep before rolling over. He did that once in a while, he would talk in his sleep and speak to people that he saw in his dreams. He ran a hand through his hair, and released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He just needed to calm down, Luffy would be fine on his own for a few hours. He would just leave him a water bottle and a note explaining where he was and that he could eat anything in the fridge in case he happened to wake up before he got home.

* * *

The cafeteria was loud as usual, though despite all of the noise Iida found it somewhat comforting. It was familiar, something that stood out in all of the craziness of the past few days that reminded him that his life was still together. That despite the tragedy his family had suffered, despite his foolish actions, despite what he had cost his friends, he could pick himself back up and grow from these experiences. He had had a lot of time to think things over the past couple of days and he had decided that from this point on, he would only fight for others. Never again would he act out of self interest or vengeance. Although he was glad to finally see Stain behind bars, he wasn't sure it was worth it to see his friends' and his own sense of morality tarnished. Now that he was (mostly) recovered, he was glad to finally spend some time with his friends after their time apart during the internships.

"So, Uraraka, I didn't get to hear. How was your internship with Gunhead?" Iida asked as he opened his lunchbox and began eating. Uraraka's eyes lit up and a wild smile grew across her face.

"It was amazing!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her enthusiasm and waving her arms in the air. She then narrowed her eyes and took a fighting stance, "I've been enlightened and now know the ways of the warrior! The battle, it calls to me!" She punched the air and let out a loud "Hya!" as she did so.

"I'm glad you learned so much, as class representative it is my job to ensure that all students are taking their courses seriously and applying themselves," Iida declared.

"And we're all thankful for that, are we not," Todoroki said. His voice was level so Iida couldn't quite tell if he was poking fun at him or not.

"Indeed!" Iida said, going along with it either way.

"By the way, did you see Bakugo's hair this morning?" Uraraka asked, giggling slightly, "I hear he spent his internship with Best Jeanist and that he was forced to look professional the entire time!" Iida chuckled, he had seen Bakugo's hair and while he did not condone gossip he had to admit that seeing Bakugo with combed and gelled hair was quite amusing.

"I suppose that didn't last long," Todoroki commented and Uraraka shook her head.

"It only lasted a few minutes but you should have seen the look on his face, Kirishima and Sero were relentless," she answered taking a bite of her food. There was a short pause as they all took a moment to continue eating. Iida glanced over at Midoriya who was oddly silent, even for him. He frowned, the boy was staring down at food, just poking at it with his chopsticks with a perplexed look on his face. It didn't look like he had taken a single bite yet. He had been somewhat quiet all day as though something were troubling him. Well as class representative (and Midoriya's friend) it was his job to get to the bottom of this.

"Midoriya," he said, "Are you alright?" Midoriya jumped slightly and dropped the chopsticks he had been fiddling with. He glanced up in alarm for a moment before processing what Iida had just asked him.

"Oh uh, yeah, everything's fine," he said avoiding his gaze. The others turned to look at him as well, they too had noticed his odd behavior.

"Are you sure Deku, you look stressed," Uraraka added, she looked concerned. Iida wondered what it was that could be causing his friend such distress, he hadn't seen him since they had been in hospital together but he couldn't imagine anything major had happened in the several days they had been apart.

"Is it a family issue? You don't have to tell us if that's the case," Todoroki offered, his voice a bit more gentle than usual. Midoriya shook his head.

"N-No, it's nothing like that, really!" he insisted, although he still was avoiding their gaze, "It's just…" he opened his mouth then closed it, he looked as though he were debating something with himself. Iida turned to the others, concern clearly on his face. The others seemed just as worried. Whatever it was that was bothering Midoriya, it was clearly difficult for him to talk about. Just then the bell rang, indicating that it was time for class. Iida sighed, maybe they would be able to speak with him after school ended.

* * *

Izuku wished he could skip this after class meeting with All Might. Something about the way he had asked him to meet with him had left him dreading this encounter. He had spent the rest of the day wondering about it and he couldn't come up with a single reason why All Might would want to speak with him. Not only that, but he was uncomfortable leaving Luffy on his own for any longer than was absolutely necessary. Every second he wasn't there was a potential chance for disaster. First of all, his mother would be home soon and if Luffy spoke just a little too loudly in his sleep or woke up confused and disoriented alone then it was likely his mother would find him. That and his condition could suddenly drop or he could even... Izuku froze at the thought and shook his head, ridding his mind of even the possibility. He stepped forward and knocked on the door of the teacher's lounge.

"It's me, All Might," he said softly, he slid open the door and felt his heart nearly skip a beat when he saw the look on All Might's face.

"Come, have a seat," his voice was grim. Izuku swallowed and made his way rather stiffly to the chair across from the couch All Might was sitting on. "You went through a lot recently," he could say that again, "I'm sorry I wasn't around to help you out," he apologized. Izuku tried to answer but with all the stress of that day combined with the dread he was feeling in the pit of his stomach, it came out as more of an awkward squeak.

"It's fine," he cleared his throat nervously, "Really." All Might sighed, but said nothing. "Uh… you said something about One For All earlier?"

"Ah... yes..." He looked like he wanted to say something but then thought better of it, "The quirk you have now is unique," All Might said, getting right to the point "And you should know its origin," Izuku sat up a bit straighter in his seat, his eyes widening slightly. This was something he had been wondering about but figured was relatively unimportant, now that All Might was bringing it up he couldn't help but feel a bit excited. The look on All Might's face however was one of utmost seriousness and it made him a bit uneasy still. "One for All was derived from another odd quirk, a power that's very old."

"It used to be something different?" Izuku asked, intrigued yet admittedly a bit confused. All Might nodded.

"The name of that quirk is All for One. It allowed its user to take quirks from others. The user could then keep the quirks for himself or give them to someone else," All Might explained. "That was back in the days where quirks were just starting to show up, before society had figured out how to deal with the newly powered among them." All Might continued, "When quirks first appeared, it became impossible to define what was normal. Laws and human rights were hotly debated, civilization's progress stalled. Society decayed." Izuku nodded, he had learned about this time period in his middle school history classes. "During that chaotic period of change, there was one person who managed to rally people together. He went by the name of his power, All for One. He stole quirks from others and then with his overwhelming abilities, he spread his influence across the country. He manipulated people to serve his purposes and committed evil acts with little resistance. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of villains and ruled over Japan," Izuku found that he had been holding his breath as All Might had been telling the story. He exhaled and tightened his grip on his pant leg.

"How does this all tie together, though?" he asked.

"All for One could give quirks to others, remember? He controlled others by altering their abilities, but there were many who couldn't bear the burden of the quirks they were given. They became mindless living dolls, incapable of speaking, just like the nomus," Izuku gasped and felt his heart skip a bit at this implication, "All for One had a quirk-less younger brother, he was small and sickly but had a strong sense of justice. They couldn't have been more different. The brother was pained by All for One's deeds and kept resisting him. All for One transferred an ability to his brother, one that allowed him to stockpile power. We don't know if this was a gift he was giving him or a means to force him into submission."

"Don't tell me…" Izuku said, understanding where this was going.

"Yes, even though everyone thought he was quirk-less, it turned out the brother did indeed have a quirk. Even he hadn't realized this. He had a useless power, one that allowed him to only pass on quirks," All Might threw his arms open wide, a grin forming on his face, "And so, the stockpiling power merged with his power and that is how One for All came to be!" Izuku felt several emotions fighting within him for dominance, horror, amazement and anxiety for what this meant. "I've always found it ironic that justice so often spawns from evil."

"Wait, hold on! I understand how One for All is still around but shouldn't the villain be long dead by this point?" He felt himself sweating as he feared what All Might's answer might be, he didn't have a good feeling about this, "So why are you bringing this up?"

"One who steals quirks has no limits, anything is possible. There are quirks that halt aging, he probably has something like that. The symbol of evil seemed pretty much immortal. With the state of the world at that time and the huge difference in their combat abilities, the younger brother decided to entrust this new quirk to future generations. Though he couldn't defeat All for One, he hoped that his ability might continue to grow in power until it was strong enough to stop his brother. Eventually it was my turn, and I managed to defeat All for One," he paused, "At least that's what I thought, but he survived and is back in action as the brain behind the league of villains." All Might rose and walked over to the window, surveying the landscape as the sun lowered in the sky, "So now you know, the entire purpose of One for All is to defeat All for One. As its holder, you might have to one day fight against this great evil yourself… because I failed," All Might paused, his voice full of regret, Izuku looked away. This was all happening so fast. "I know you didn't expect this, but-"

"I'll do my best!" Izuku announced, despite the anxiety that was screaming at him to run away from it all. He rose to his feet, determination overriding his fear. "I'll do whatever you ask, no matter what it might take. As long as you're with me, I can do anything! I know you'll have my back!" He stopped when he saw All Might's face. He seemed anguished, as though he were torn over something. He put his hand to his face and for a moment he stood there, not saying anything.

"Thank you," he said softly. Izuku felt the tension in the room reach a peak. There was a long silence after that, "You may leave now," he said after a moment.

"Wait..." Izuku said, causing All Might to raise an eyebrow. He took a deep breath, not even really sure what he was asking but it had been bothering him for a while now, "Since we are talking about super villains, there's one that I can't find anything on despite him being rather recent." He saw as All Might tensed up a bit.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Um, the Red Ravager... who is he? What happened to him?" All Might sighed.

"I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you, young Midoriya," the man's frown deepened as he spoke, "He's as mysterious to us as he is to the rest of the world. Who he is, what his quirk is, his motivations... even if he's still alive, we just don't know. All I know is that if he were to show up again, I don't know if we could handle him, it took everything we had to stop his rampage and still several heroes were taken down in the process... I'm sorry, he is another result of my negligence..." Izuku shook his head and smiled, even though he couldn't deny the nervousness he felt.

"It's fine, I'm sure we can figure it out together," All Might nodded but said nothing, he didn't seem quite as sure as Izuku had hoped he would be. There was a long silence, and after a moment Izuku rose to his feet, not sure what to say or what was wrong. He grabbed his bag off of the floor and headed for the door.

"See you tomorrow then," he said, turning to face All Might. He just nodded and Izuku left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Toshinori watched as Midoriya left the teacher's lounge and began to walk back down the hall on his way home. He was such a brave boy, and he had such faith in the name of All Might. Toshinori wasn't sure how to tell him, or if he even could. After explaining everything about All for One and their inevitable battle in the future, the same villain that had left him in this emaciated state, he had claimed that as long as Toshinori was there by his side he could do anything. How could he even begin to tell him that he might not be for much longer… he paused. Just as Izuku had rounded the corner, another man had entered the hallway and was now making his way towards the teacher's lounge. Without hesitating, he immediately retook his muscular form before the man could notice.

"Endeavor?" Toshinori asked in surprise as the man approached him. It was strange enough to see the hero here in the school after hours but not only that, he was no longer donning his outfit and was now in his casual clothes. Toshinori supposed that since his son Shoto was enrolled at the U.A as a student that perhaps he should get more used to seeing the man who typically avoided him like the plague. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Todoroki didn't much care for him. He wondered if perhaps the man had some questions regarding the education of his son.

"Hello All Might," Endeavor said, a bit stiffly as was to be expected. He cleared his throat, "I need to speak with you," Toshinori nodded. He allowed the man to enter the lounge and the two of them took seats across from one another around the coffee table.

"What is it that you wished to discuss?" Toshinori asked, giving the man his signature smile. Endeavor was silent for a moment, as if not quite sure where to begin.

"It's the Red Ravager..." he began and Toshinori felt the smile on his face stiffen. _Speak of the devil... _

"What of him?" Toshinori asked, praying that whatever news he had was good. Perhaps he had been found, or maybe he was discovered to be dead... he prayed that there was no chance of a reappearance. He knew it had only been luck that they had been able to stop him the last time. He wasn't so sure that they would be that lucky again.

"I saw him..." Endeavor finally said, and Toshinori's breath hitched in his throat, "the other night, during the nomu attack... Just for a moment, he was there..." he explained.

"Are you sure?" Toshinori asked, though for Endeavor to swallow his pride and approach him with this information he had to be fairly certain. "We don't know what he looks like, how can we be certain the one you saw was him?" There was an awkward pause, Endeavor seemed uncomfortable, it was strange to see him so unsure.

"I don't know how to explain it," he said staring down at his folded hands, his eyes were intense and focused as he spoke, "I didn't really _see _him, just a silhouette and his eyes reflecting the firelight. He was just sitting there and watching, I took my eyes off of him for a minute and he was gone." He paused for a moment, thinking over exactly what he wanted to say, "I know this sounds strange, but there was this..." he paused as if searching for the word, "...aura about him, and I just knew... it was him..."

"So he really is alive..." Toshinori said softly. Endeavor nodded.

"I am a proud man, but I'm not a fool," he said, "I'm only telling you this because I know I can't handle him on my own, not after last time..." Toshinori nodded. Endeavor had nearly lost his life in the skirmish against the Red Ravager and he hadn't managed to land even a single blow. If there was anything that could humble the ever proud hero, it had been that incident in Tokyo over two months ago.

"Thank you Endeavor, I will keep my eye out," Toshinori said. This had been the last thing he had been hoping to hear. Now he knew that the Red Ravager was still out there, and they had no idea what he was going to do next.

* * *

By the time Izuku got home, it was dark out. The sun was just barely peeking above the horizon and the sky was a deep blue as he opened the front door of his home. He was immediately hit with the delicious smell of dinner when he stepped inside and his stomach rumbled loudly. He quickly took off his shoes and hurried into the kitchen where his mom was cooking what seemed to be a pot of curry and rice. She turned to greet him and smiled.

"Hello Izuku, how was your day at school?" she asked. He forced a smile in return, he was so tired, but he didn't want to worry his mother about all the things that were stressing him out. Furthermore, he couldn't tell her about most of it anyway, considering he would be in serious trouble or it was top secret information that he wouldn't divulge to anyone.

"Good," he said and yawned, "just did a lot of exercises." She nodded and turned back to the pot where she was cooking.

"Go ahead and put your books away, I'll call you when dinner's ready," she said and he nodded, turning to enter his room, "by the way, you didn't happen to rescue a cat or something did you?" she asked and Izuku froze.

"U-uh what?" he asked.

"I know you Izuku, you are a very kind boy. I'm not deaf though," Izuku felt his heart thumping in his chest, "I didn't open your closet because I was afraid he might escape, but once you're done taking care of him I want you to release him or find a home because you know I'm allergic," Izuku smiled shakily and nodded, before quickly turning and hurrying back to his room. Once inside, he shut the door and threw the backpack to the floor, running to his closet. He slid the door open wondering if maybe Luffy had woken up or maybe he had gotten worse or…

"Luffy!" he whispered as he knelt down beside the unconscious boy. There was no change since he had last seen him and he didn't respond to his name. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried. He must have been talking in his sleep again, or maybe he was just moving, whatever the case, they had been really close to being caught. He leaned forward and checked Luffy's temperature again, it hadn't changed all that much since the last time he had checked it. He sighed, he had no idea what he was going to do if he didn't get better. He sat back and ran his hands through his curly hair and seriously contemplated getting his mother and telling her everything. Infections were serious business, there was no way he could keep taking care of him on his own.

"...Izu... that you…?" Izuku's widened slightly and he looked down to see that Luffy had cracked an eye open.

"Luffy, you're awake!" he said in a hushed voice. Luffy just groaned slightly and nodded. Suddenly there was a knock at his door.

"Izuku, dinner's ready," his mother said through the closed door.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second," he called over his shoulder. He looked back down at Luffy who looked like he really just wanted to go back to bed. "I'll be right back okay?" he said.

"...m'kay…" Luffy muttered, Izuku got to his feet and closed the closet door, and left his room. He explained to his mother that he would have to eat dinner in his room because he had a lot of homework that night. He felt slightly bad about lying to her but he needed to take this time to check up on Luffy's condition before he passed out again. He hurried back into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He once again opened the closet and knelt down beside Luffy. To his dismay, his eyes were closed once again, and he was scarily still. Had he lost consciousness again?

"Luffy, hey, you still there?" he asked somewhat frantically. To his relief, Luffy's large brown eyes slowly reopened.

"...Yeah...still here…" he answered, his voice soft. Izuku smiled, this was good news. Maybe Luffy was starting to get better. He heard Luffy's stomach growl softly and glanced down at the bowl of curry in his hands, he could always sneak some more for himself later. Luffy clearly needed it more than him anyway, even though he had been eating regularly the past two days, he still seemed a bit malnourished.

"Hey can you sit up?" he asked, Luffy nodded and slowly rose to a sitting position. "I brought you some food," Izuku continued, handing the bowl of curry over to Luffy whose smile morphed into a bright grin. He eagerly took the bowl and began eating as though his life depended on it. It was messy and undignified but Izuku was used to this manner by now. Luffy ate every single one of his meals this way as though he might not see food again for another week and had to get every mouthful he could as fast as he could. When he was done he handed the bowl back to Izuku who sat it down on the carpet next to him.

"You seem happy, something good happen?" Luffy asked, his words seeming a bit stronger after having eaten.

"I'm just glad you woke up, I was getting worried there," Izuku explained and Luffy raised an eyebrow confused.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"You've been asleep for nearly three days," Izuku explained, "I was starting to think you might not wake up."

"Oh, that's normal, I do that all the time! Sleeping usually makes me feel better," he answered, seeming unconcerned, "Once I slept for two weeks straight." Izuku raised an eyebrow.

"Luffy, that's not being asleep, that's being in a coma," he said not really sure whether or not he was exaggerating. Luffy nodded.

"Oh, so I was in a coma then," he said adapting to the new narrative, "I had a lot to sleep off, I was cut up all over and was poisoned and had magma on my chest...wasn't fun..." Izuku had started learning to take Luffy's stories with a grain of salt. When they first met he had figured he had some mental issues and now that he had spent some time with him, he had come to the conclusion that Luffy was a pathological liar. It wasn't so much that he thought Luffy was intentionally trying to deceive him, but the stories were so outlandish at times that there was no way he could be telling the truth. He had heard that pathological liars felt the urge to make up grand fabrications about themselves and their experiences in order to get others to notice them or earn their admiration. Luffy seemed like a lonely guy, he lived on the streets by himself and he probably had a rough childhood or family life. It wouldn't be surprising if he had come out with some issues.

"What's wrong?" he asked, Luffy was frowning as he stared down at his wrist.

"It's weird though, I don't feel any better…" he sighed, almost sounding frustrated, "Ugh, if only Chopper were here… he's my doctor and he's the best in the world… he would give me good medicine and fix my arm," Izuku nodded, deciding it would be best to just let Luffy tell his stories rather than try to argue with them. There was even a chance that Luffy believed these stories himself, or he did something to make them real in his imagination.

"Sorry I'm not much help," Izuku said, reaching out his hand, "I can take another look at it if you like," Luffy nodded and let Izuku take the injured wrist, undoing the bandages once again. The wound was still horribly red and swollen, but it looked a bit cleaner than it had when he had first seen it. He supposed that was due to his constant cleaning and disinfecting it. "I wonder if we should ice it, maybe if we bring the swelling down a bit… hey, I think we might actually have some antibiotics from the last time I got sick, maybe we could try using those as well, but I'll have to find them. They might not be strong enough to help any and they might kill off the good bacteria, what if we run out before we can finish curing you and we accidentally make them resistant…" he looked up and saw that Luffy was just staring blankly at him. He coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat, "sorry, I'll be back."

When he returned with the medicine and supplies from the bathroom, Luffy had propped himself back against the back wall of the closet and had closed his eyes. He was humming something quietly to himself and he was tapping his good hand against his knee in time to the beat of the song. Izuku smiled, this was considerably better than the two days of silence that had had left him constantly worrying whether or not he had made the right decision not to take Luffy to a doctor. Luffy sat up slightly and opened his eyes, somehow alerted to Izuku's presence even though Izuku had been quiet in entering the room. Izuku knelt down next to him and took the bottle of penicillin and poured out a small measurement into a cup which he handed over to Luffy. Luffy looked down at the pink liquid and grinned.

"Smells sweet…" he said before he downed it, "tastes like candy…" Izuku wasn't sure whether or not the medicine would outright kill the bacteria, but he hoped it might be enough to weaken the microbes enough that Luffy's immune system could have an easier time fighting them off. The doctor had prescribed this for him when he said that his throat hurt last week but he had ended up not needing it when he felt better the next morning. The bottle had been unopened and waiting in the bathroom cupboard and Izuku felt it was some sort of cosmic design that Luffy showed up when he did.

"What's the matter?" Izuku asked as he finished bandaging his arm. Luffy was staring at him oddly, like he was trying to see something that was beyond him.

"You remind me of Coby," Luffy stated after several minutes of looking him over. Izuku frowned.

"Who?" he had no idea what Luffy was talking about, for all he knew it was one of Luffy's fantasies again.

"Coby, he's my friend, he's a marine. He wants be an admiral one day," he explained, Izuku nodded, not sure how that correlated to him but he was glad that Luffy had friends other than him. For a while he had been afraid that Luffy was completely isolated.

"That sounds cool," Izuku answered, "Has he made any progress?" Luffy nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah, last time I saw him he was a lot stronger, he can use the shave technique and other six powers," and there it was, the fantastical side of things that he had been anticipating, "he wants to fight and capture pirates, which makes being friends with him hard since I'm a pirate but that's fine, I haven't seen him in a few years though," Izuku just nodded.

"You're a pirate?" he asked, not believing a word of it, but hoping the conversation might bring Luffy to better spirits. His stories were also quite entertaining to listen to. Luffy grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, I have a bounty and everything, it just went up too! Isn't that great!?" his grin widened and he sat up straighter, proud of this bizarre achievement. Izuku just nodded and smiled back.

"Yeah, that's pretty awesome..." he said awkwardly, not really sure he should be congratulating that. Being a criminal wasn't exactly something to boast about, even if he was just making it all up.

"And for once Sanji's is higher than Zoro's, he's gonna be so mad when he sees that!" Luffy snickered to himself.

"Sanji and Zoro... they in your crew?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah! Sanji's a chef, he makes the best food in the entire world! And Zoro... he sleeps a lot but when he's not sleeping he'll kick your ass, well if doesn't get lost first. He does that a lot, he's pretty dumb isn't he! Shi shi shi! he paused and his smile faded somewhat, "I haven't seen my crew in a while though… I miss them…" he sighed forlornly and leaned back against the wall again. "I wish they were here…" Izuku was silent, the part about his pirate crew might be nothing but a fantastical story, but it was clear that he was missing someone. Perhaps Sanji, Zoro and Chopper were all people he had met on the streets, or perhaps they had never existed in the first place... He didn't really want to pry into his past so instead he turned on the T.V on his desk. Luffy's eyes widened, his attention instantly diverted.

"Hey, wanna watch a movie?" Izuku asked, hoping to get his mind off things. Besides, laying in bed and watching movies was the perfect pass time when you were sick. Luffy looked a bit confused for moment.

"A movie?" he asked, Izuku nodded and pulled out a DVD case that was filled with movies of all kinds. He held out the selections to Luffy and he took the case, looking at the different DVDs with a strange expression on his face.

"I've got Ghibli, Star Wars, some classics like Indiana Jones…" he grinned as Luffy flipped through the different selections, "I'm in the mood for anything so you decide." Several moments passed but finally Luffy slid a DVD out of the case and handed it to Izuku. It was a lesser known Disney classic, Treasure Planet. That was a fun one he supposed, he slid the DVD into the player and skipped ahead to the main menu. Without further adieu, he pressed play and the movie began, opening up to a galleon floating in the vastness of space and the narrator's opening lines. He hadn't seen this movie in a while, this would be fun.

* * *

"Do you think that there might actually be a treasure planet?" Luffy asked, Izuku nodded not really listening as he worked on his homework. He sighed, he figured once he had gone to a super prestigious high school where famous pro heroes taught, he wouldn't need to study algebra anymore. It wasn't particularly hard, Izuku had always been fairly decent at math and science, he just thought he had moved past math homework once he left middle school.

"Annnnd… if the y is equal to 46 and the two equations are equivalent, then if I divide by both sides then x should be… ah 15," he jotted down the answer and moved on to the next problem. Oh this one involved factoring, he hadn't done factoring in ages. He pulled out an old notebook from his desk drawer and flipped through his notes from several years ago. He was glad he was smart enough to save these.

"'Cause I've never thought of sailing in the stars… that was so cool, do you think that there are pirates in space already!?" Luffy continued, either not realizing that Izuku wasn't paying attention or not really caring. "I've already got a cyborg on my crew but I think it would be cool to have a morph. He would be fun to play with… man I really want to ride on one of those supernova thingies, oh and and the sky-surfboard!" Luffy rambled on still obsessed with the movie they had watched the previous night. He had enjoyed it more than Izuku thought he would, it was a fun movie but not one of his favorites. Izuku just nodded again as he moved on to the next problem involving logarithmic functions. He wondered if he would ever find this useful when fighting villains, he actually wouldn't be surprised if some quirk arose that required him to rely on mathematics in some way. The chances of that seemed slim though.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Izuku jumped at the voice that was suddenly right in his ear. He dropped his pencil and whirled around to see that Luffy was hovering behind him and looking at the paper he was working on.

"Oh! Woah! Are you sure you should be standing?" Izuku said, a bit alarmed. Luffy had been more alert this evening than he had been for a while but he still wasn't looking too hot. For one thing, Izuku had noticed that his fever had been increasing since the previous days. They had managed to keep it down with medicine but that didn't stop Izuku from worrying. Luffy on the other hand didn't seem to care about his worsening condition in the slightest.

"That one's wrong," Luffy said, pointing to an equation he had solved about ten minutes ago. Izuku blinked and glanced down at the page.

"It is?" he asked, Luffy nodded.

"They said that each sandwich costs 780 yen and the hot-dogs cost 560 right? You forgot the 6," he pointed at multiplication where he had indeed forgotten to carry the 6. "You can actually get 8 sandwiches and 10 hot-dogs with the money you have," Izuku stared at him. He was right, he erased his previous answer and redid the math. Luffy's calculation was spot on.

"You're good at algebra, Luffy?" he asked, not to be mean or anything, but Luffy didn't seem to be the most studious person. Luffy just stared at him blankly.

"What?" he said, sounding a bit confused.

"Hey can you check this one for me, it was giving me a bit of problems," Izuku pointed at another equation on his sheet of paper. Luffy looked at it for a few seconds, then he squinted as if thinking hard.

"Hey, do you think the space pirates are wanted by marines?" Luffy asked after several minutes of staring at the paper.

"What?" Izuku asked, Luffy put the paper back down on the desk.

"I think they would be, but I didn't see any marines in space... Captain Flint was sorta like Gold Roger, so was he a pirate king?" he continued. Izuku wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about now but he didn't really care.

"Was it right?" Izuku asked looking back over the equation Luffy had checked. Luffy paused and stared at him.

"Was what right?" he asked. Izuku just stared at him, just when he thought he was starting to understand him…

"The equation!" he exclaimed. Luffy frowned, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, I dunno… um… 6?" he asked shrugging. He paused, as if rethinking it over. "You did get the other one right though, if Jessie is eating 50 slices of watermelon a minute and Walter is eating 20 a minute but his speed is increasing by 5 then he should catch up to her in 6 minutes," Luffy said, matter of factly. Wait a minute, there was a pattern here.

"Hey Luffy, what's 6 times 6?" he asked, Luffy made a face and shrugged.

"Dunno, I think it's a mystery," he said. Izuku took a deep breath, hoping that he was wrong and the answer wasn't this bizarre.

"Okay, if you eat 6 meals a day and it's been 6 days, how many meals have you eaten?" he asked, Luffy's face lit up.

"Oh that's easy, 36!" Izuku stared at him speechless. Luffy's mind was truly the strangest thing he had encountered in this world of superheroes, where people could spit acid and shoot laser beams from their belly buttons. Out of all of it, the greatest mystery was what made that bat-shit crazy mind of his tick.

"Thanks," he said, turning back to his homework.

"No problem!" Luffy responded, walking back to his makeshift bed. Izuku just sighed, he had the weirdest temporary roommate in the world.

* * *

**Izuku isn't kidding when he says infections are serious business. I did a little bit of quick internet research and turns out, hey, that shit's pretty deadly. Luffy's lucky that he's Luffy or he wouldn't be walking around so cheerfully. The amount of shit that's going on in his body right now as he's trying to sleep it off is pretty incredible. Luffy has like the best stats: Constitution, Strength, Dexterity, Charisma... all above 20 at least lol. We just gotta get that intelligence score up.**

**Also, am I the only one who thinks that Izuku and Coby are very similar? They have essentially the same goals, crybaby tendencies and soft hearts, I don't know they just remind me of each other. Maybe someone could write a crossover starring those two? Idk food for though. **

**Furthermore, about those space pirates... To answer Luffy's question, there are indeed space pirates in the One Piece world according to the Eneru cover page story. Don't know what that's all about or why they are foxes for whatever reason, not to mention the army of automatons up there... are we ever going to get around to explaining that? Like... there is a whole thing going on on the moon... what's up with that? Is that ever going to be relevant again? It's sort of killing me, all the lore and world building in One Piece is super mysterious and super good. **

**Finally, I've always had this head cannon that Luffy is good at math, but only when it applies to food in some way. I can't remember if that has ever been used in the manga or if I read it somewhere, but its just a silly head cannon that I can definitely see being actually cannon.**

**Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. As for now, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! **


	12. Chapter 12

**So...**

**It's been a long time since my last update, almost a year. I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting. I never meant to go on such a long hiatus, but I guess that's just how life can be sometimes. I don't know when I'll go back to working on this story and actively writing again but just know that I haven't dropped this story completely. At least, not yet. I can't make any promises that it will continue but I'll try to get back to it. **

**Truth is, I'm really shy and I am really nervous about sharing my work, even anonymously online. I never expected this story to get half as many views as it did and I'm absolutely astonished that people have kept reading it. I've even gotten a few comments still and I just really want to say thanks for your words of encouragement. But I'm horribly perfectionist and even though this is just a dumb story I came up with on a whim and it was never meant to be anything serious, I can't help but feel like I'm not meeting your expectations with it. I kept re-writing these last few chapters, editing them over and over, but they never seemed right. That's partly why I disappeared for so long, I chickened out when I realized that I wouldn't be able to please everyone. So I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to make them perfect for you guys cause you all seemed so enthusiastic and I just was sorta putting too much stress on myself so the passion faded and I stepped away for a while to regain perspective and then life happened. **

**And yeah, I know none of that's really all that rational and it's kinda blowing things out of proportion, but that's how social anxiety be sometimes lol. And maybe this is too much explanation for this but I do feel sorry that I made you all wait so long and I feel I sort of owed you an explanation on that. **

**I figured now that we are all stuck social distancing and my classes are coming to an end, I could really quickly do one last edit on the chapters I have left and post them for you. So I'm sorry if the content of these next two chapters aren't worth the year long wait and are disappointing, but I felt like you at least deserve what I have. So, I hope you enjoy, and sorry again to keep you all waiting.**

* * *

Chapter 12: The Fever

"I'm kinda scared about the practical exam, I have no idea what it's going to be," Deku said folding his hands together.

"Hard to believe they'd give us anything too crazy," Iida reassured, Deku nodded.

"The written exam questions will all be stuff from class so…" he paused taking a bite of his lunch, "I should at least be able to do those," Ururaka wasn't so sure about that. She had been stressing over exams herself for the past couple of days.

"Do you really think it's going to be that simple?" she asked, Deku frowned.

"It's driving me nuts, I just wanna know what they'll have us doing," he said, taking another bite of food.

"It's a comprehensive test of everything we learned this year, " Hagakure commented, causing Uraraka to jump slightly. Due to being invisible, even though her clothes were present, it was still easy to forget that she was there.

"Yep, and that's about all that we could get Mr. Aizawa to tell us," Tsu added, nibbling a piece of bread. Uraraka took a bite from her own meal and paused for a moment, thinking over the possibilities. Exams were only a few days away now, everyone was wondering how they would do and what the tests entailed but no one new for sure.

"Okay then, so it'll cover combat training and rescue training," she paused for a moment, running it through her mind again. "Oh and basic training," she added quickly. She glanced over at Deku who seemed to be much more himself than he had for the past several days. She was glad, she was worried that something bad must have happened or that he was stressed over something. She didn't like seeing him like that, not just because they were friends but also because one of the things she admired most about him was his determination and his ability to persevere through anything. She had been growing worried that even Deku had been feeling helpless under all the stress of the Stain incident and school work and all other things the world might have thrown his way. Seeing him actually opening up again and involving himself in conversation was nice because it meant that he had overcome whatever it was that was troubling him yet again.

"We can't just study," he said, putting his hand to his chin in thought, "we have to stay in great physical shape and- ooof!" he exclaimed as someone elbowed the back of his head. Uraraka glanced up and saw that it was Monoma, the snotty kid from class 1-B.

"Oh sorry," Monoma said, though the apology was clearly insincere, "You're head's so big that it's hard to miss," Uraraka frowned, she wasn't a big fan of this guy.

"You're from class 1-B," Deku realized as he turned to face who it was who had hit him, "Uh, Monoma right? That really hur-" he began, awkwardly rubbing the spot where he had been hit.

"I heard you guys stumbled across the Hero Killer," Monoma sneered, Deku gasped at the mention of him and Uraraka's eyes widened slightly. She glanced over at Iida who was silent next to Deku. "Just like the sport's festival, class 1-A isn't happy unless they're the center of attention, but you do realize that you're not in the spotlight because people think you're good heroes right?" Uraraka glared at him, she felt her muscles tensing as he spoke, "It's just that you keep getting in so much trouble." His eyes lit up with a twisted glee as he spoke, "Here's some food for thought, someday the rest of us might get caught up in your mess, and then we'll all become unwitting victims as well! What horrible villains will you bring down upon us? What-oof!" Kendo, another student from class 1-B had approached Monoma while he was speaking and hit him over the head.

"That's not funny, Monoma," she said as she caught his tray of food midair. "You heard what happened to Iida," she scolded.

"Kendo-" Iida began but she cut him off.

"I apologize for him, I'm pretty sure there's a hole where his heart should be," she sighed, and lifted him up by his shirt, "By the way, I overheard you wondering about the exams," she added, "I heard that we were going to be fighting robots again, like the entrance exam," she said. They all perked up at that.

"What, how do you know that?" Deku asked, Kendo shrugged.

"A friend of mine whose an upperclassman filled me in, I know it's cheating but whatever right?" she began dragging Monoma away as Deku seemed to have some sort of revelation and began mumbling to himself under his breath as he often did when he was lost in thought. Uraraka paused as well, so they were going to just be fighting robots again? It didn't sound too difficult, but she worried that there might be a catch or something. She turned back to her food and continued eating, worried about what the exams might entail. She frowned as she scooped another bite of food up from her bowl and put in her mouth, lost in thought and not listening to what the others at the table were talking about.

"...has got the strongest kicks in the series there's no way that he couldn't beat the Phantom Lord!" Iida said matter of fact-ly. Uraraka had only caught the tail end of the conversation but she supposed that they must be talking about some show that they watched or something.

"I didn't realize you were so invested in a manga Iida," Tsu pointed out and Iida's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he seemed a bit embarrassed by this.

"Yeah, all Midoryia said was that he didn't think that the series would end with a big fight," Hagakure added.

"Well he shouldn't say something so ridiculous then, clearly the series is culminating to a final showdown, that was all I meant," Iida retorted, taking another bite of food. Uraraka wasn't really sure what they were talking about but she laughed anyways.

"You practically wrote an essay about the power structure, character development and narrative progression of a comic book," Todoroki stated. There was laughter from the others but Uraraka's attention was called away by the sudden chiming of a phone. She glanced across the table at Deku who had jumped in alarm and then pulled out his cell phone from his pocket.

"Hello?" he asked slightly tentatively. Uraraka watched with curiosity as Deku's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Luffy?!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice. Uraraka wasn't entirely sure what a "luffy" was but it was clearly important as Deku suddenly seemed to be trying to act a lot more discreet. "What are you doing calling me at school, where did you even get this number?" He rose from the table and exited the cafeteria and left to take the call in the hallway. There was an awkward pause as everyone sitting at the table had gone silent when Deku had answered his phone. She wondered if that call had anything to do with what had Deku so distracted the past couple of days. Maybe this was her chance to find out what was going on with him.

"I'm uh... gonna go use the bathroom..." Uraraka said, breaking the silence. The others shrugged and returned to bickering over manga and other franchises. She rose to her feet and followed the path Deku had taken to leave the cafeteria. Exiting the cafeteria was always slightly disconcerting as the loud chattering and laughter of dozens of students was suddenly muted in the unsettling quiet halls of the school. To go from a lively environment to the silence almost felt oppressive as though you weren't aloud to disturb the quiet. She began slowly making her way down the hall and was about to round the corner when she paused.

"Wait...the white one? You did put it back right?" she heard Deku ask. She poked her head around the corner and saw that he was standing with his back to her near a grouping of lockers along the right wall. There was a moment of silence as the person on the other end of the line responded to him. "You what!?" Deku suddenly exclaimed in a strained voice as he tried to keep his volume down. "Why were you even playing with the garbage disposal!?" his voice was now a mix of incredulous and exasperated and he was gesturing wildly. What the heck was going on?

"It's for getting rid of leftover food, it's not a toy!" Deku explained to whoever he was having this conversation with, "You don't just go around getting my mom's tablecloth stuck in it!" Uraraka raised an eyebrow as she heard laughter coming from the other voice over the phone. "It was draped over the table! Why did you think it was a towel!?" Deku let out a sound of exasperation as he leaned back against the wall before slowly sinking to the floor. "My mom is gonna kill me..." he muttered in obvious distress. The laughter on the other side only increased in volume. Now that the phone was no longer pressed up to his ear she could just barely make out what the other faint voice was saying.

"_...sorry sorry..."_ they said through fits of laughter and it was clear from their tone that they weren't quite that sorry at all. Deku sighed and pulled the phone back up to his ear as he listened to whatever excuses his friend was making. He suddenly shot forward.

"No!" he exclaimed, "Whatever you do, don't stick your hand down to try and get it out, you losing another arm is the last thing I need..." another pause, "No don't use a fork either! Wait-" Deku suddenly pulled the phone from his ear as an ungodly screeching came from speaker before everything went quiet.

_"...I think I broke the fork..."_ The voice said. There was another pause as Deku face palmed. "_...Don't worry I'll just find something else..."_

"No. Just leave it." Deku said, sounding drained, "And don't touch anything else, just go lay down or something!" His friend said something further but all Deku did was groan before hanging up. There was a pause as Deku leaned his head back against the wall and seemed to ask the gods why, out of all people, was this happening to him. Uraraka was debating approaching him but her decision was made for her as the bell rang indicating that her opportunity to speak with him was gone.

* * *

Izuku pulled on the tablecloth, doing his best to free the tattered piece of fabric from the blades it was wrapped around. Luffy was sitting on the counter next to him happily eating the meal Izuku had made for him. He dangled his legs off the edge off the counter and swung them back and forth like a small child whose legs are still too short to reach the floor.

"Your house is pretty neat!" Luffy said with his mouth still full. Izuku said nothing as he tried wriggling the tablecloth to hopefully loosen it so he could pull it out. They only had a few hours before his mom got home and Izuku was hoping they could get it free before he had to face her. "The washing machine is super cool! It spins super fast!" Luffy continued, ignoring the fact that Izuku wasn't really listening to him. "Do you think I can fit in it?"

"No probably not," Izuku said, his voice strained as he began pulling back on the cloth, "It would be pretty cramped and-" he paused for a moment before finally registering the question. "NO!" He exclaimed. Suddenly the table cloth gave way and he stumbled back, falling to the kitchen floor holding the freed fabric in his arms.

"Oh! You did it!" Luffy exclaimed cheerfully as he peered down into the sink drain where pieces of the table cloth still remained stuck in the blades of the garbage disposal. "It's still not working though..." he pointed out.

"That's because I turned it off," Izuku replied, getting to his feet.

"Should I turn it back on?" Luffy asked, reaching for the switch.

"No!" Izuku said, stopping Luffy before he could break anything else somehow. Luffy paused and pulled back before shrugging. Despite how shitty he must feel, Luffy was as lively (and destructive) as ever. Izuku had to keep coming up with ways to keep him entertained or Luffy would try to entertain himself and that usually ended with disaster. While Izuku had been at school, Luffy had been exploring the kitchen. Not entirely bad in itself at first, until he had tried to cook himself lunch. It must be said that Luffy is not a cook. Whatever was currently stuck to the frying pan on the stove, it was vibrant green, released a foul odor and was definitely not edible. Not only that, he had made a mess of the kitchen. In an effort to clean up, he had for some reason grabbed the table cloth to use it as a towel and after using it to wipe down the counter he had left it there. It was then that he had apparently discovered the garbage disposal. There were several shredded remnants of items strewn about the living room that Luffy had experimentally put down the drain. His mother's flowers were one of them as well as the fashion magazines that had been on the coffee table. He hadn't intentionally shoved the table cloth down into it, but a corner that had been unfortunate enough to be haphazardly close to the drain had fallen in on its own and dragged the rest of the fine fabric in with it. He had tried to salvage it but in trying to pull it free the cloth had ripped apart until it was not but a few scraps jammed deep in the sink. That's when he had decided to try and call Izuku.

It took several moments but Izuku grunted as he finally worked the last scrap of fabric free from the sink.

"Try it now," he said, praying that it would still function. Luffy grinned and flipped the on switch. There was a loud roaring as the garbage disposal came to life. "Good, it still works! You can turn it off now!" Izuku said. He smiled, relieved that he didn't have yet another thing to try and explain to his mother when she got home. He was sort of hoping that she wouldn't notice that the table cloth had disappeared.

"Hey, what do you want to stick down there now?" Luffy asked, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Nothing! We don't put anything down there but food got it!?" Izuku exclaimed. Luffy sighed but he nodded in agreement.

"Fine..." he said a bit sullenly before he suddenly perked up a bit, "Hey! Why don't I try fitting in the dryer instead!"

"NO!"

* * *

Izuku got home early the next day, when he entered his house he found that his mother wasn't home yet. He took his shoes off at the door and hung up his jacket. He was relieved to find that this time the house wasn't a disaster. Stopping in the kitchen, he reached into the pantry and pulled out a small bag of crackers which he opened and popped one into his mouth. He set his backpack down on the counter and noticed that the sink was full of dirty dishes. He figured he would clean them before his mom got back considering half of them belonged to Luffy so there was more than usual and Luffy was sort of his responsibility for the time being. He got to work rinsing off plates and bowls, setting them one by one into the empty dishwasher and as he worked he thought over what materials he should study for the exams. He wasn't particularly worried about the written portion as he had done fairly well on the midterm but he was still a little nervous about the practical. Kendo had said it was similar to the entrance exam but wasn't there a chance that they had changed it over the years?

Once he was finished he rinsed his hands off in the sink and went out to grab the mail, which he should have picked up when he first got home but the thought had slipped his mind. He checked the mailbox and saw nothing of great interest, it was mostly ads and a few letters to his mother but they looked like they were probably related to finance. He re-entered the house, setting the mail on the counter. He was about to enter his room when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was Uraraka calling, his cheeks turned pink and he quickly answered.

"H-Hey, Uraraka!" he answered, still feeling awkward about talking with a girl over the phone. He and Uraraka were just friends but it still felt a bit weird to him.

"Hey Deku!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"What's up?" he asked, he wandered over to the living room and sat down on the couch as he spoke.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you heard about the study group that Momo is setting up at her house, I don't know if I'll be going myself but she just told me about it and I thought I should let you know since you were so worried about exams at lunch," she explained.

"No, I hadn't. Is she inviting everyone?" he asked, he didn't want to show up if he wasn't welcome.

"Anyone who needs tutoring is what she said, she's pretty smart so I don't think she'd mind a few more people showing up at her place," Uraraka continued, "I tried texting you about it but they weren't going through for some reason, maybe it's 'cause I dropped it in the sink again," he chuckled slightly, still it sounded awkward even to him.

"Yeah, that might be it," he answered, "Anyway, I don't know if I can make it to the study group, I have some...uh...things I've been busy with."

"Okay, I was just letting you know. Well, see you tomorrow Deku!" she said.

"See you," he said and he heard the phone call end. He hung up and leaned back against the couch. He had a lot on his plate right now. Slowly he got to his feet and left the living room, making his way down the hall to his room.

"Hey Luffy," he announced as he entered the room, he noticed that Luffy wasn't relaxing on his bed and flipping through his manga or fiddling with the T.V, "I'm home," he threw his backpack to the floor and collapsed on his bed. He waited for the inevitable laughter and the sound of the closet door sliding open. He closed his eyes and waited, but there was an eerie silence. He sat up, a bit concerned.

"Luffy?" he asked, he waited a few minutes and still there was no reply. He got up and walked over to the closet where Luffy was most likely sleeping. He was probably alright but he just had to make sure. He had been fairly alert the past two days but that didn't really mean anything considering his fever hadn't broken yet. He slid the door open and felt his stomach dropping. Luffy was passed out on the floor with the covers tangled awkwardly around him. His face was flushed and he was sweating profusely, he was breathing heavily as though it were difficult for him and his brow was furrowed. Izuku knelt down next to him and put a hand to his head. His skin was burning and Izuku quickly grabbed the thermometer and took his temperature. He nearly dropped the device once he read the number on the screen: 105.7 F (40.9 C). That was way too high, what the hell happened!? He had only been away for a few hours!

"L-Luffy," he tried gently shaking him by his shoulders but he just groaned. "Luffy, hey…" he tried to rouse him but it was no use. He took a shaky breath and ran to the kitchen where he grabbed a towel and ran it under the faucet. Once he wrung it out he hurried back to where Luffy was and he gently placed it on his forehead. Luffy flinched slightly in response to the cool cloth on his skin but other than that he was still. Izuku returned to the kitchen where he filled a large glass with cool water and grabbed the bottle of Ibuprofen. He wasn't sure how much this would help but it was something.

"Hey, Luffy," he spoke to him just in case he could hear and understand him, "I'm gonna give you something to drink okay?" he took the two ibuprofen pills and crushed them and put them in the water, he then gently lifted Luffy's head and steadily poured the liquid into his mouth. Instinct took over and Luffy drank the water but some of it dribbled down his chin and pooled on his sweatshirt. Izuku then grabbed the fan that was in the corner of his room and pulled it over to the closet and pointed it toward Luffy. He set it to low and hoped it would be enough to cool him. Once again Izuku returned to the kitchen, if there was anything that had not failed to bring him to some level of consciousness, it was food. He reheated some leftovers from the previous night and held the bowl out to Luffy.

"Hey, I brought a snack," he said, holding the bowl closer in the hopes that the scent might awaken some primal part of his brain. For a frightening second there was no response, but finally Luffy slowly cracked an eye open. Izuku sighed with relief.

"...Knew I could count on you...Sanji…" he mumbled. Izuku blinked, a bit confused, "...you're the meat king….king of the meats…" he let out a small laugh that turned into a cough.

"Luffy?" Izuku asked, that feeling of worry rising in him once again. At the sound of his name, Luffy turned to glance at him but his eyes were unfocused.

"...Bring me...so many food…"

"Hey Luffy, are you ok?" Izuku asked, Luffy's eyes seemed to focus a bit and after a moment he smiled.

"...Hey Izu...when'd you get here…? I thought you were with the spook king…" Izuku frowned. This was definitely not a good sign.

"The spook king?" he asked. Luffy nodded very faintly.

"...king of spooks...very spooky...you like 'im…" Izuku suddenly remembered the manga he'd let Luffy read the previous day. He was talking about the character the Phantom Lord, the main villain of the series. This really wasn't good, Luffy was clearly in his own world, more so than usual and there was no use in trying to communicate with him.

"Well I uh, came back to bring you some food," he said. Luffy slowly sat up and took the bowl from Izuku. He began to eat though he did so a bit less energetically this time. Izuku smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. He wondered what exactly he was supposed to do to bring down such a high temperature. He started a bit when suddenly a hand was clumsily patting him on the head. He looked over and saw that Luffy was grinning at him with that far off look again.

"You have a Zoro on your head...Zoro head...more fluffy…" he laughed to himself as his hand awkwardly slid down Izuku's face. Izuku took his hand and gently removed it from his face.

"Uh, please don't," he said, he didn't really like it when people touched his hair, though he couldn't be mad at him because he wasn't really all there at the moment.

"Sorry…" he laughed, "Didn't meant to squish it...squish Zoro…" he paused for a moment.

"Luffy?" Izuku asked, Luffy just stared at him blankly for a second before collapsing back to the floor as he muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.

"Look, you're really not doing well. I really think we should take you to a doctor." Luffy opened his eyes and glanced up at Izuku before lightly shaking his head.

"...No hospitals...bad idea…" he said as firmly as he could. Izuku sighed.

"What if I did call an ambulance though, would you go with them?" he asked, Luffy shook his head.

"I'll fight them," he said, balling his fists and lifting them in a fighting position. His eyes seemed to clear up a bit and his voice was much harsher and stronger than it had been moments before.

"Why?" he asked, he couldn't figure out what Luffy's aversion to doctors was, maybe he had some sort of previous bad experience with them. Whatever the case he needed Luffy to cooperate with him on this or he would seriously end up hurting himself. He could tell that when he said he would fight, he meant it.

"...They'll try and stop me...won't let them…" Izuku wasn't sure how much of that was Luffy consciously talking or if he was starting to mix his thoughts with his delirium again, "...gotta get back...they're waiting…"

"Who's waiting?" Izuku asked, wondering if he was going to get a real answer or one that was distorted by his fevered mind.

"They're waiting on the Sunny...Thousand Sunny…" he mumbled and Izuku frowned, "...gotta get back…" his voice trailed off as he once again slipped into unconsciousness. He got to his feet and took the bowl back to the kitchen sink. He should just let him sleep, he wouldn't get anything more out him. As he began to put things away, he wondered what might've happened to Luffy if they hadn't run into each other. He froze as he realized that he would have probably died only a few nights later if not that very afternoon. That was a sort of shocking realization to come to. The worst thing about it was that Izuku wasn't really even sure he was helping anymore. Luffy had only been deteriorating in health since he'd shown up and while Izuku had maybe slowed the progress of the infection, he certainly hadn't stopped it.

"Oh Izuku, there you are!" his mother said, entering the kitchen and startling him. He hadn't realized that she had gotten home. "You already ate dinner?" she asked looking down at the sink where he had put Luffy's bowl. He just nodded awkwardly.

"I was really hungry after class," was all he said. He stared past her towards the open door of his room which was in plain sight. Through it you couldn't see Luffy but if in his sleep he decided to make a noise, there wouldn't be anything to muffle it. Was that really a bad thing though? Sure Luffy said it would be bad if he went to the hospital for reasons he had yet to explain, but his fever had just spiked to dangerous levels. Okay, if this didn't clear up by the day after tomorrow, he would call for help, no matter how much Luffy might resent him for it.

"Well, if you get hungry again go ahead and help yourself, okay?" He nodded and hurried out of the kitchen back to his room. He quickly shut the door and made sure to lock it so that his mother couldn't just accidentally walk in. He looked down at the sleeping Luffy, who was still flushed red and breathing heavily. Bad didn't even begin to cover things. He couldn't afford to leave Luffy home alone while he went to school anymore. He would have to skip so that he could keep an eye on him and make sure that his fever didn't get any worse. He sighed, well at least that gave him another day to work on his homework.

* * *

Uraraka stared at Deku's empty seat in concern. He had been acting a bit strange ever since they had returned from their internships last week. He had seemed to cheer up a bit the past day or two and was focused on exams, but Uraraka could tell that something was still bothering him. He hadn't shown up for class that day, which could mean anything. Maybe he had a doctor's appointment, or maybe he had to visit a dentist. Most likely it meant he was just sick or something, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on with him. He was hiding something, and she knew that Iida and Todoroki could tell as well. Tsu commenting on it the other day had confirmed it for her.

"So according to the Hero Accord of 2098…" Aizawa paused mid sentence and turned to look directly at Uraraka, his face was as humorless as always.

"Ms. Uraraka, would you care to describe what was written in the accord?" Uraraka jumped slightly, pulled out of her train of thought by the sudden attention that was on her.

"Uh… heroes can only save civilians with uh… their consent right? People have the right to deny being saved if they are sound of mind." she asked, there was a long pause. Aizawa stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Close enough," he said and began writing something down on the chalkboard. Uraraka sighed in relief. It never felt good to be called out in class when you weren't ready. Why did teachers do that? She glanced around the room, to no one's surprise Iida, Todoroki and Momo were all taking notes as quickly as Aizawa was writing them down. Bakugo was twirling a pencil in his fingers looking bored. It looked like Tsu was doodling something in her notebook and Kaminari had fallen asleep some time ago and wasn't even bothering to hide it at this point. She looked back down at her own notebook which had a decent amount of notes but was also littered with little doodles of cats and silly faces. She sighed and wrote down an additional note relating to the accord that Aizawa had written on the board. Just then, to everyone's relief the bell rang.

"Alright, study pages 98 to 110 and we'll continue this discussion tomorrow. Remember, exams start next Monday, be prepared," Aizawa said as everyone began packing up their notebooks and getting their things together so that they could go home. Uraraka slung her backpack over her shoulder and was about to leave when she was stopped by Todoroki.

"Hey, have you spoken to Midoriya today?" he asked. Uraraka frowned and shook her head.

"No, why?" she asked, Iida was standing beside Todoroki and he looked equally concerned.

"He hasn't been answering our texts, we tried calling him at lunch but it went straight to voicemail," Iida explained, Todoroki nodded.

"I was just talking to him yesterday, he seemed fine. Maybe he's just busy," Uraraka said, not wanting to jump to conclusions but she couldn't help the worry rising in her. However, with both Iida and Todoroki sharing her previous concerns it was starting to feel like maybe her worries weren't unfounded.

"I think he'd at least answer us, and if he had previous engagements, he would have let us know, I don't think there's anything too wrong though. Maybe he's just sick," Todoroki said and Uraraka nodded.

"Do you want to go and check on him and see if he's okay?" she asked, Iida nodded. She hadn't been to Deku's home before and she felt a bit awkward about going without being invited but her concern for her friend outweighed her sense of social propriety. She followed the two of them as they made their way to the train station. He would most likely be okay anyway, it would only be a quick visit.

* * *

The three of them stood on the doorstep, waiting for either Deku or his mother to answer. After several minutes of silence, they tried the doorbell again. Uraraka felt her worry creeping back. It was possible that they weren't home, but then where were they? There was something about silence that made your mind run wild with ideas. Once you were unable to get into contact with someone, the not knowing made you grow a little paranoid. Even though it seemed unlikely, worst case scenarios would begin to enter your mind and the longer you were out of touch the more they were reinforced.

"Midoriya, are you home?" Iida called, knocking firmly on the door. There was silence again. They stood there for several more minutes but nothing.

"Maybe he's not here," Todoroki offered, Uraraka frowned. If he wasn't here, where was he? They were about to leave when finally the front door opened. Deku was standing in the door frame, he was still wearing his pajamas and he looked a bit disheveled. His hair was unkempt, more so than usual anyway, and his face was pale. He had dark circles under his eyes and it looked as though he had been up all night. Maybe he was sick, she would make him a nice soup and hopefully help him feel better.

"Deku, there you are!" She exclaimed.

"We've been trying to contact you all day, are you feeling okay?" Iida asked, there was a short silence as Deku said nothing.

"We were worried about you because you didn't show up for class and-" Uraraka began but Deku cut her off.

"I need your help," he said softly, his voice kind of scared her with how serious it was.

"What is it?" Todoroki asked, Deku just shook his head but he said nothing. Uraraka frowned, his eyes were a bit red like he had been crying. Deku was an emotional guy but still that wasn't good. They followed him inside and down the hallway to his room where he raised a shaky hand and opened the door. There on the floor lay the form of an unconscious boy, his breathing was rapid, raspy and strained and his face was flushed red. His head was wrapped in bandages and his dark hair was plastered to his skin from his sweat. He was shaking slightly and it was clear that he wasn't well. Surrounding him were various medicines and other first aid equipment, a fan was gently blowing on him and he had cool towels placed on various parts of his body. Deku rushed over and knelt down beside him, he placed a hand on his forehead and the worry on his face deepened.

"I can't get his temperature down and he won't wake up," his voice cracked and it was clear that he had been at this for hours, trying to break the boy's fever and resuscitate him. "He's almost at 108 degrees, I don't know what to do," he said, his voice was shaky like he was trying his best not to panic. The boy on the floor let out a small groan as if to emphasize this. Uraraka, Todoroki and Iida just stared at them in alarm and confusion. When they had gone to see what was up with Deku, they hadn't expected this to be the cause. The fear on Deku's face had Uraraka rattled a bit, he always seemed like the kind of guy who had a plan for everything.

"We should call an ambulance right away," Iida said pulling out his phone, readying to dial the number. Deku shot up, waving his hands and shaking his head in protest.

"No! No, he says not to," Deku said, glancing down at the boy.

"Why not, this looks bad Midoriya," Todoroki replied looking a bit baffled. Uraraka nodded, agreeing with the two of them in their confusion. To refuse treatment in this condition was a bad idea, practically suicidal and downright idiotic. If they got him to a doctor right away they would know what was wrong with him and be able to hopefully cure him. She glanced down at him wondering what had happened.

"I don't know...Even now that the infection has gotten this bad, he keeps insisting that its a bad idea, I don't know why but he's serious," he explained. Deku looked exhausted, but his stance was firm.

"He's obviously not thinking clearly then, this could kill him," Iida insisted and Deku's eyes grew watery.

"I know that, but if we try he'll fight us," he said, "Even if we can't stop him, he'll end up hurting himself or… all the effort might…" he took a deep breath. "He says it's a bad idea, and I don't know why but if he keeps saying no even now then all I can guess is that it's serious. Besides, he has the right to deny medical help and we can't force him," Deku said as if to convince himself he was in the right.

"...Don't… I'm coming…" the boy mumbled, his words slurring together as he tossed in his sleep.

"Who is he?" Uraraka asked, she had never seen this kid before. He must have been a friend of Deku's but he had never mentioned him before and it was sort of surreal to see someone so grievously ill just passed out on the floor of her friend's bedroom. Deku sighed.

"I don't… it's complicated, his name is Luffy," he said as if trying to figure out the best way to explain it.

"What happened to him?" Todoroki added, it was a reasonable question as it was obvious there was more to the boy's problem than just the fever. His head and arm were wrapped in bandages and the one on his arm was starting to turn a red color indicating that there was a large injury there.

"He was attacked by a nomu in Hosu city," the three of them gasped when they heard this, "He was wandering around lost and sick when I found him, I met him before but only for a bit… I couldn't just leave him out there so I invited him in so he could get better but he's only gotten worse!" Todoroki stepped forward and knelt down beside the unconscious teen.

"I have some first aid training, let me see," he said. Deku lifted up Luffy's arm and unwrapped the bandages, showing him the wound. Uraraka blanched and she heard Iida make a disgusted "ugh," when they saw it. It was red and swollen and covered in dried blood and pus.

"I was just about to clean it when you arrived," Deku explained, Todoroki made a face and examined the injury. He tentatively reached out and touched one of the more swollen areas and immediately Luffy let out a little gasp of pain.

"This isn't good," he muttered softly. Slowly Uraraka and Iida approached as well, kneeling down next to Deku. Uraraka tentatively reached out and felt Luffy's forehead, careful not to activate her quirk. It was burning up and she winced, she remembered the last time she had had a fever, that had only been about 101ºF (38ºC) which wasn't anywhere close to 107ºF (41.6ºC) and it had been miserable. She gently lifted his head and helped him to drink from the bottle of water Deku had left for him.

"...Nami...wanna go to...the lightning island…" he muttered. He was having some weird lucid dreams. She looked over at Todoroki whose frown was only deepening the more he examined Luffy's wrist. He reached over and grabbed his left arm which seemed uninjured. He put the hand down then reached up and checked Luffy's pulse. Uraraka touched his arm, wondering what it was Todoroki was trying to see, despite his flushed face and high temperature, his hand was oddly cold and clammy.

"I think…" he said slowly, hesitating slightly, "I think he's dying," they all sort of froze at that statement, "The infection's spreading and I think it's gone to his internal organs or something. I'm not an expert but none of this is good, he might have gone into shock…"

"Dying?!" Deku squeaked, his face pale, "Like actually…" he stopped and looked down at his friend.

"Yes, I believe it's called sepsis or septic shock, it has a high mortality rate- around 50% and that's _with _treatment, we have to get him to a hospital now or he will die," Todoroki said calmly but he was clearly distressed.

"Ok," Deku finally relented, "Ok we'll take him," he paused for a moment, "Hey Todoroki, do you think you can get his temperature down in the meantime?" he asked. Todoroki paused as if unsure, then he nodded.

"I can try, it's difficult because it's so precise but I'll try," Todoroki took a breath and leant over Luffy, he placed his right hand on Luffy's chest and they began to feel waves of cool air flow out into the room. Iida pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance but Uraraka stopped him, having a sudden idea.

"Wait," she said, and Iida frowned.

"I know he doesn't want to be taken to a hospital Uraraka but this is serious, the fever is clearly messing with his head," he argued and Uraraka shook her head.

"I know, but we might not need to take him there, we can still do as he says and get him treatment," she paused gathering their attention, "We can take him back to U.A, we can say we found him nearby and that this was the closest option. Recovery girl should still be there and she can probably do something to help right?" As they listened they nodded, finding her idea to be worth considering.

"But doesn't her power rely on stamina, I don't know if Luffy could withstand all that," Iida said offering up a counter argument.

"He's lasted this long," Deku said, "You don't realize how strong his immune system and will power are, he's been at my house for nearly a week now," Todoroki glanced up at him in surprise. For a moment it looked like he wanted to argue that fact, to say that there was no way that it was possible to remain in such poor condition for a week without treatment and still be alive. Deku seemed to notice as well and shrugged as though he had no idea either. Todoroki said nothing, though he still seemed startled by that revelation. He shook his head and turned back to focusing on taking care of Luffy who seemed to be a little bit less red in the face now.

"Okay but how are we going to move him, we will have to take the train to get there and I'm sure there will be several people who might have something to say about us carrying an unconscious kid around the city," Iida said, Uraraka nodded this was a valid point.

"We could use our quirks," Deku said, "Uraraka, if you make him lightweight then Iida can use his engines to carry him right? Todoroki, Uraraka and I will take the train and meet up with you at the school.." he paused, "I know I'm asking a lot of you guys and I know it's illegal but-"

"I'll do it," Iida said, he glanced down at his arm which still had the brace on it after Stain's attack. Uraraka nodded as well.

"Me too, we're not just going to let someone die, we want to be heroes after all," she reached down and touched Luffy's cheek. There was a brief second and then slowly, Luffy began to levitate off of the ground. Iida reached forward and pulled him out of the air so that he was now holding him.

"Do you have any orange juice Midoriya?" he asked, Deku nodded and ran to go get some from his refrigerator. Meanwhile, Uraraka took this time to secure Luffy in Iida's grip by using her jacket to tie him to his body. When Deku returned, Iida took the carton of orange juice and finished it off, making sure that he had plenty of fuel.

"We should hide your identity, just in case," Todoroki said, he pulled up the hood on Luffy's sweatshirt and pulled it tight so that his face was mostly concealed. For Iida they took a bandanna and cut out some eye holes so that he could see. They then put a beanie on his head so that they could hide his head. They made their way to the front door of the house and Iida turned back to them.

"I'll go as fast as I can, I'll call you when I get him help okay?" they nodded and Iida exited the house. Once he was out on the street, they watched as he took a deep breath, bracing himself and then began to run at top speed in the direction of the U.A. Hopefully they had made the right decision.

* * *

**So Luffy isn't doing too well at the moment, but considering his organs have been in critical failure for a week I think he's doing pretty well. Septic shock is pretty bad, according to what I read on the internet, your chance of survival drops by 6% every hour you have the condition without treatment. Luffy's been in septic shock since he first ran into Izuku so I guess those rules don't really apply to him.**

**Anyway, I wanted to thank you all for reading and to let you know that it does mean a lot to me that you have been enjoying things so far. I've tried wrapping up this plot thread for a long time but I could never really figure out a satisfactory path. There's one more chapter I have complete so I'll share that. Then hopefully whenever I get around to continuing working on this story we can get back to the superhero/villain antics and finally get into the main plot. I'm so sorry for the long break, and there will probably be another one. But thank you again if you are still reading. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's the second chapter, as I promised. I know these two aren't the most exciting chapters you could have after such a long break but at least it ties up the highly controversial "sick" arc that I got myself stuck in lol. I hope this ties things up decently and that there aren't too many plotholes. I'm not as familiar with BNHA's world building as OP's so I might've made some mistakes here and there. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and sorry again about the wait. **

**I'll try my best to finish chapter 14 at least and hopefully at least continue this story somewhat. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I do intend to continue and I'll at least try to update again before another year goes by.**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Recovery

Iida raced through the streets, he took as many shortcuts as he could. He hoped not only that he could get to the school faster, but hopefully that less people would notice him. Unfortunately, it was hard to miss a man who was rushing down the road at the same speed as a car. At one point he had heard someone calling out to him to stop, he was pretty sure it was a police officer but by the time he had even processed this occurrence, the man was already disappearing behind him. A low clap of thunder filled the air, rumbling in the distance as small droplets of rain began to fall to the earth. Iida frowned, at the speed he was moving the rain was pelting him much harder than it was actually falling. The droplets accumulated on his glasses, blurring his vision slightly. He couldn't wipe them away as his arms were full with carrying Luffy.

He glanced down at the boy in his arms, his skin was slowly turning a sickly yellow color and his breathing was getting shallower. He was shivering violently now as well, the fever chills made only worse by the rain and the cool temperature it had brought with it. He held him tighter to his body, hoping that would help keep him warm and with a firmer grip on him he would have a smoother ride. The constant jostling as Iida ran couldn't be good for him but it was better than sitting idly by and doing nothing as he died.

He considered taking a moment to rest but he knew that if he stopped now that he might not have the energy to start running again. He was breathing heavily and his legs were burning but he wasn't about to give up now, not after the oath he had made on the injury he had received from Stain. No matter how tired he was or how much trouble he could get in, what was important was that he saved a life. He smiled slightly, he saw the U.A building in the distance, it wouldn't be long now. The sight of it gave him another boost of energy and he picked up speed, shooting towards the building at same speed as a car on a highway. Just a few minutes later he arrived on the outskirts of the campus where he slowed himself to a stop. He took a moment to notify Uraraka and the others that he had arrived and within a few seconds he felt Luffy's weight return to him. He was surprisingly light. He sat down heavily, gently laying Luffy down on the ground next to him.

"We made it, just hang on another second," Iida reassured him despite the fact that he was unconscious. He removed the bandanna mask and hat, it probably wouldn't be best to show up looking like this. They would be a bit less likely to believe his story.

"I'm sorry to do this but we have to make it look like we just found you here," Iida said, unwrapping the bandages from Luffy's head and wrist. He was still bleeding somewhat but it wasn't heavy enough that he figured he might be putting him in danger by taking away the bindings. He wiped the rain from his eyes and leaned back against the wall, catching his breath for a second.

"...c-cold…" Luffy chattered next to him. Iida was surprised to see that his eyes were open and that he was looking at him. Luffy began trying to sit up bit the effort seemed a bit much and fell to his elbows "...w-who...where…." he paused and began gagging. Iida drew closer to him and awkwardly patted him on the back as he vomited.

"Are you…" he cut himself off, it was a dumb question to ask. He was clearly in no shape or form okay.

"Where...where's Izu…?" Luffy trailed off as he slowly lost consciousness again. Iida got up, he really was in bad shape. At this point, to wait any longer to get him aid was tantamount to murder. Once again, he scooped up the boy and began to carry him onto the campus, this time at a much slower pace without the use of his engines. He made it inside the building and ran down the hall toward the infirmary. The halls were empty and fairly dark but he knew that Recovery girl and the other teachers were most likely still there.

"Hey!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the building, "I need help!" There was silence for a moment as he ran forward, "Please, this is an emergency!"

"Tenya," a voice behind him startled him into slowing to a standstill. He turned and saw the unimpressed face of his homeroom teacher. He rushed towards him and held out the unconscious boy to him so he could see what was going on.

"He needs help, Mr. Aizawa" he exclaimed, "Is Recovery girl here?" Aizawa looked down at the pale, trembling teenager he was carrying and his eyes flashed, for the briefest moment Iida saw alarm on his typically stoic countenance. He paused for a moment as if thinking everything out and then he reached forward, holding out his arms.

"Hand him to me, I will take him to the infirmary," Aizawa instructed, Iida obeyed and let the man take Luffy from him. "Go clean yourself up and then meet me there, we will discuss this further once you're suitable." Iida looked down at himself and saw that blood from Luffy's wounds had gotten all over his hands and chest. He straightened up and nodded.

"Yes sir," he said, then he turned and ran towards the nearest bathroom. Once inside, he rinsed the blood off his hands and immediately pulled out his phone, dialing Midoriya's number. He had to let them know that Luffy was now in the care of the U.A staff.

"Iida, did you get there safely?!" Midoriya asked, picking up after the first ring.

"Yes, he's with Aizawa now, they're taking him to the infirmary as we speak," he said. There was a sigh of relief on the other end as Midoriya heard the news. There was a pause as he heard Midoriya relay the report to the others.

"Thank you Iida, we'll be there in fifteen minutes," Midoriya finally said. Iida just smiled.

"It was no problem."

* * *

Aizawa glanced down at the boy in his arms. To see Tenya running about the school after hours calling for help was unusual enough, to see him holding an injured and seriously ill teenager was somewhat alarming. To say he had questions was an understatement. However to dwell on it when this boy clearly needed medical attention was illogical. He hurried down the hall to where Recovery girl was just now finishing her paperwork and most likely going home for the day. He entered the infirmary and quickly laid the boy down on one of the several beds that was in the open room. He turned to knock on the infirmary door and let Shuzenji know that there was a medical emergency when suddenly the boy's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist. He glanced down and was surprised to find that the boy's eyes were open.

"...No... let me go… I won't…" he gagged, he looked like he was going to throw up but he continued, "...no hospital… can't...afford to…" he heaved and doubled over but he held on tight to Aizawa's arm.

"This isn't a hospital, we aren't going to charge your stay here," Aizawa said, trying his best to make his voice sound reassuring. Dealing with civilians in need was not his forte, but he did what he could when it was necessary. The boy didn't release him, he instead looked into his eyes before seeming to come to a conclusion about whether or not he was lying to him.

"...can't breath…" he released his grip on Aizawa and put his hand to his chest, it seemed that he had decided to put his trust in them after all.

"I understand, I'm going to get help okay," he told him. The boy nodded and closed his eyes and let Aizawa leave his side. Aizawa calmly but quickly approached the nurse's office and knocked at the door.

"What is it?" Shuzenji asked as she slid the door.

"There's a boy here in critical condition," Aizawa informed her. Shuzenji, known to most as Recovery girl, frowned.

"Let me see him," he led her to the bed where the boy was lying unconscious. Her frown deepened and she rushed to his side, examining his wounds and condition.

"This is very serious, I'm afraid if I used my quirk now it would kill him," she checked his temperature and breathing and her eyes widened slightly. "Aizawa, I need you to fetch an I.V. and find me some saline alright," she commanded, rushing over to a cabinet on the far end of the room. Aizawa did as instructed, grabbing an I.V and wheeling it over to the side of the boy's bed. "Get a blanket and throw it over him, he may have a fever but parts of his body aren't warm enough. I also need you to find a ventilator and breathing mask," she instructed as she began pouring out a small measurement of medicine into a cup. When he returned with the equipment she had requested, she was already administering him several different medications, lifting up his head and gently pouring the cups of liquid antibiotics into his mouth. The boy's eyes shot open and he flew up as he began gagging again.

"It's okay, I need you to breathe, what's your name," she asked and the boy struggled to get hold of himself and keep the medication down.

"...Luffy…" he muttered weakly, "...what...what's happening...where am I…" he asked his eyes were glazed and he looked unfocused. Recovery girl shushed him and gently lowered him back down.

"It's okay, just relax, we're going to take care of you okay?" Luffy nodded.

"Okay...Just don't…" before he could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"This is worse than I thought," she said, clearly upset, "Quickly plug in the machine and plug the mask into the blue tube marked O, then fit the mask around his face," Aizawa followed her instructions while she set up the I.V and quickly began introducing the saline intravenously into his bloodstream. He fitted the mask to the boy's face and fit it over his mouth and nose. "Set the dial to 50," she said and he did so. The machine let out a hissing noise as it began to release oxygen through the mask and into the boy's lungs. Shuzenji attached a cuff to his arm and began to test his blood pressure. "Much too low…" she muttered as she read the dial, "we'll have to monitor that…" she glanced back up at Aizawa, "You can leave now, I can handle this," she said. He nodded and exited the infirmary, sitting down on a couch outside in the hall and waiting for Iida to meet him. He had some questions.

* * *

Izuku ran as fast as he could through the rain towards the High school. He had spent all day doing his best to make sure that Luffy was still breathing, every second that had passed he was certain that every breath would be his last. There hadn't been much he could do but give him water and keep giving him fever limiting medication. He had looked up every home remedy but most of the websites had said to seek medical attention or were obviously untrustworthy superstitions. He heard Todoroki's and Uraraka's footsteps as they ran behind him. He burst through the doors of the school and continued through the hallway until he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"Midoriya," Todoroki's soft voice broke through the silence, "you need to calm down, what if you get in their way?" He came to a stop and turned to see the concerned faces of his friends. They were right, if he burst into the infirmary like a madman it could disrupt Luffy's treatment and at this point every second was crucial to his survival. He felt like he was at his wits end, he felt the way he had during the attack on the U.S.J and during his battle with Stain, only this time he didn't have an enemy to focus on or fight. All he could do was hope that his friend survived.

"Sorry," he said, his voice shaky as he fought to get his breathing back under control, "Y-You're right," he took another deep breath. He hadn't known Luffy all that long, but for the past couple days he had been under his care and he had gotten to know him. Luffy was his responsibility and if anything happened to him it would be his fault. Maybe he should have taken him to a doctor sooner, maybe he should have told his mother… He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, what ifs were going to do him no good. He just had to make sure that Luffy was going to be alright, then he could relax. He turned back to the infirmary and began walking at a brisk but steady pace.

"He'll be okay, Deku," Uraraka said trying to reassure him. He just nodded, they were small words but surprisingly, they helped a lot. When they reached the infirmary they saw Iida and Aizawa outside the door and speaking with one another.

"Midoriya!" Iida exclaimed once he saw them approaching. He broke away from his conversation with their teacher and began walking to them.

"Is he-" Izuku began unable to contain his worry.

"Your friend is receiving medical treatment from Recovery Girl," Aizawa said, meeting them.

"I have to-"

"None of us will enter until she says that we may do so," he said putting his hand up and preventing Izuku from moving forward, "Now Iida said that the four of you found him unconscious outside campus but that you knew him Midoriya?"

"Uh yeah," Izuku said not really wanting to lie, "We met a week or two ago, I don't really know much about him," that wasn't really dishonest. The truth was that he didn't know anything about Luffy's history, his family, his background, whether or not he was educated or even how old he was. In fact it was somewhat astonishing that in all their time together he hadn't seemed to learn a real thing about him. The most he had done was tell stories and state facts that were clearly fabricated by his need to make his life seem more grandiose than it was but beyond that he knew nothing. What happened to his parents, had he run away or had he been forced into these circumstances? How long had he been on his own? Did he have any family left alive or was he really all alone? Why did he refuse treatment for so long, had he had some sort of traumatic experience in the past or did he simply have a phobia? He didn't know the answer to any of these questions.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to him?" Aizawa continued.

"Uh… he mentioned something about being attacked by one of those nomus in Hosu City," he said. Aizawa raised an eyebrow, Izuku wondered if maybe he should've just said he didn't know. The attack had been quite a ways away from where they had supposedly found him and it had been nearly a week now. "I… he was sort of delirious so I don't know…" he added just to be sure.

"He's… he's going to be okay right?" Uraraka asked, sounding a bit nervous. Izuku felt his heart skip a beat. Aizawa was not the type of man who would sugarcoat the truth and as much as he wanted to know he wasn't sure if he could handle what he might say.

"Recovery girl is doing what she can so he is in good hands, but I can't guarantee that he will be alright," Aizawa said his voice as calm and rational as ever. Izuku felt himself take a deep breath but he wasn't sure if it was from anxiety or relief. He had expected Aizawa to tell them that he was already a dead man walking. He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder and turned to see Todoroki give him a reassuring smile. He smiled back but it was weak and uncertain.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here, Midoriya," They all turned at the sound of Recovery Girl's voice and saw her standing at the entrance of the infirmary. "It seems that whenever someone in critical condition ends up in my care you are involved in some way," Izuku rushed over to where she was standing, eager to know his friend's condition.

"How's Luffy doing?" he asked, Recovery Girl sighed.

"I had to administer several antibiotics and drugs to raise his blood pressure, I've steadied his breathing and I've cleaned up his wounds," she said and Izuku sighed in relief, this was more than anything he'd been able to do in their time together, "He's still unconscious and his injuries may require surgery to remove dead tissues and anything that maybe be lodged in the cuts."

"Can I see him?" Izuku asked, Recovery Girl paused for a moment before relenting.

"Yes, but try to keep your voices down and keep your distance," she said stepping aside to let them pass. Izuku nodded, agreeing to her terms and entered the infirmary. His breath caught in his throat when he saw him. He was hooked up to several machines, including one with a mask over his face that allowed him to breathe normally. He sat down heavily in one of the empty infirmary beds and put his head in his hands.

"Oh man…" he whispered to himself. This was all his fault, he should've done something more. Even though Luffy had insisted that they not go to the hospital… they had waited too long to get help and now he couldn't even breathe on his own anymore. He couldn't believe that he had let his friend get this close to death, he was supposed to be a hero! How could he claim to want to be like All Might if he couldn't even save one person right? Maybe All Might had chosen wrong, maybe he wasn't meant for this after all, he wasn't worthy of One for All…

"Hey," Iida said, Izuku looked up to see that his friends were all staring at him with concerned expressions. Aizawa was hovering in the doorway of the infirmary, he wasn't saying anything but he watched on with mild curiosity.

"You okay?" Uraraka asked.

"I don't know…" he said and their frowns deepened.

"Look, you managed to save his life," Todoroki reassured, he gestured to the sleeping Luffy who while despite being hooked up to several machines and having yet to regain consciousness looked much more peaceful than he had been just moments before. For one thing, his breathing was much smoother and slower and now that he was wrapped in blankets he seemed to be shivering a lot less. His wounds were re-bandaged and cleaned thoroughly and had stronger antibiotics helping to fight of the infections. He was still pale and his cheeks flushed but at least he didn't look as though simply being alive was quite the chore it had been under his care earlier.

"I haven't seen an infection this bad in ages," Recovery Girl said, "It looks as though he's been suffering for several days now. It's a miracle he lasted that long on his own, in all honesty he should be dead already… I have no idea how he managed to keep going for so long but if you hadn't found him when you did he'd surely be dead by now," Izuku took a deep breath and nodded. He wiped his watery eyes and forced a small smile on his lips. These words pushed the negative thoughts and self doubt back from his mind.

"Thanks," he said weakly, he looked Luffy over one more time and the fact that he was finally on the road to recovery finally hit him. Relief flooded his body and he suddenly felt exhausted. He collapsed back on the bed, nearly ready to pass out. "Can I stay here tonight, please?" he asked. Recovery Girl frowned, she normally didn't let people spend the night in her infirmary unless it was needed for further treatment, however it was clear that she could see just how much stress and worry this incident was causing him. She sighed and relented.

"As long as your mother allows it, I will permit you to sleep in one of the open beds," she said and Izuku nodded. He would call his mother and let her know in a minute, for now he just needed to rest. He closed his eyes and let himself relax for what felt like the first time in years.

* * *

Izuku prepared himself for bed, after his nap he had called his mom and told her that a friend of his was in serious condition and that he wanted to stay by his side as emotional support. She had allowed him to do so and had even driven to the school to bring him his homework and toothbrush as well as a pair of clothes for him to change into in the morning. Now he sat on the bed across from Luffy and did his best to focus on studying for exams at the end of the week. He had spent the past couple of days with most of his attention spent on taking care of Luffy, outside of his normal homework he hadn't done much studying. He hoped that he could at least make up for it now that Luffy was in the nurse's hands.

It was now late at night, the only light came from a small lamp besides Izuku's bed that cast a soft and warm glow through the room. Izuku had spent one or two nights in this room before and he was used to the silence that was only interrupted by the study hum of medical equipment. The only thing that was different was the hiss of the mechanical breathing apparatus that Luffy was still hooked up to. He wondered how long he would need the assistance of the machine to breathe. It had been several hours since they had transported him to the infirmary, Izuku knew he was being impatient but there hadn't been much change in Luffy's condition since then. He had asked Recovery Girl but she hadn't been very specific in her answer, she had told him that it could take anywhere from several days to a couple of weeks for him to regain consciousness and even longer for him to make a full recovery.

He frowned as he looked over his study guide. He wasn't as concerned about this portion of the test as he was with the physical, still he needed to keep his mind refreshed if he wanted to make a high grade. Unfortunately, it was difficult to focus on the history of hero law when his friend was in critical condition just barely ten feet away from him. He had to keep reminding himself that he no longer had to keep an eye on him and that Recovery Girl was a capable doctor and surgeon. However every time the machinery seemed to make an unusual sound or Luffy groaned in pain in his troubled sleep, he couldn't help but going to his side and checking to see if he was okay.

"Midoriya, I'm surprised you're still awake given how exhausted you seemed earlier," Izuku glanced up to see that Recovery Girl had entered the infirmary. He nodded, though at the mention of how tired he was he couldn't help but yawn. She shook her head and turned back to the bed where Luffy was sleeping. She had come in regularly to check up on him, taking his blood pressure, checking his pulse and refilling the I.V with saline solutions and antibiotics. It seemed she was doing her rounds again and she fit the cuff on Luffy's arm, frowning as she read the dial.

"What is is?" Izuku asked, unable to keep the worry from creeping into his voice.

"It's nothing too serious," she said and began re-administering the antibiotics into the I.V, "He just hasn't gotten his heart rate and blood pressure back to an acceptable level where I feel I can safely perform surgery to remove the dead tissues." That's right, she had mentioned something about surgery earlier but he hadn't paid much time at the time.

"Surgery?" Izuku asked, a bit concerned.

"The infection in his arm has caused some of the tissues to die, it's a condition called gangrene. Luckily his case is in the early stages and is nothing too serious but it has to be removed if we want him to recover," she explained. Izuku nodded, a bit relieved, at least it was nothing that seemed immediately life threatening. He turned back to his work as she continued to tend to him. He would finish this round of questions and then take a break and jog around the room a few times before finally going to bed.

* * *

Luffy cracked his eyes open, he was staring up at the dark ceiling of an empty room. This wasn't where he had been before had it? His mind was still foggy and he felt a bit dizzy. He felt so weak too, like the exhaustion was pushing down on him preventing him from moving. There was something on his face, it was pumping air to his lips. Well this was certainly odd, he was pretty sure he'd been in Izu's room hadn't he? He had no idea where he was now. It smelled a bit weird though and he wasn't quite sure he liked it. He tried to sit up and instantly the world began swimming around him, which was awfully rude of it if he was being honest.

"Hey," a calm voice broke through his clouded mind and he felt a calm hand gently laying him back down on the bed, "It's okay, you're okay," his eyes began to focus once again and the fog in his mind began to clear somewhat. There was an old woman standing above him, a kind and reassuring smile on her face.

"...Where...where am I…?" he asked, his voice muffled by the mask on his face.

"Shhhh, don't strain yourself," the old woman answered, "You're in the infirmary at U.A High, you were brought here by your friend Izuku after he found you outside the school," she explained. He tried to understand everything she was saying but the fog in his head was making it hard to process everything. He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"...Izu…?" he paused, taking a moment to breathe as he was still finding it difficult, "...why...what…" he was unable to finish his sentences as he lost track of what he was thinking as he suddenly remembered how awful he felt. To be fair though, he was finding things much better than they had been last time he had been awake.

"Just relax," she said and he did his best to listen, "You're safe, we aren't going to hurt you." She spoke very calmly and soothingly as though she were trying to tame a wild animal, "You're in serious condition but you're doing quite well. Your recovery has been nothing short of impressive, you have a very strong immune system." Luffy blinked, she was saying a lot of words and not all of them were quite processing correctly just yet but it sounded like she might be complimenting him? He wasn't quite sure. "I can make some of the pain go away by performing a surgery on your arm to remove the dead tissue, I'm going to put you to sleep again okay?" she continued, he still wasn't quite certain he understood what she was saying but he heard her mention something about taking some of the pain away and he was down with that. He nodded, hoping that made sense in context to what she had said. She smiled at him, "Good, when you wake up again you will hopefully feel a bit better," as she said this she moved over and slowly began messing with the equipment on the side of his bed. She had pulled open the curtains before she had begun speaking to him and now the room was bathed in a soft early morning light. It was oddly relaxing.

"Where's Izu?" he asked, finding his voice a bit. He was still a bit confused as to what was going on.

"Izuku has already gone to class, he should be taking a written exam right about now," she said. Luffy nodded slowly before closing his eyes, he was still feeling tired from the whole ordeal and he just wanted to sleep. He didn't need to worry, he would just let her do doctor stuff and he would be alright… He felt the fog in his mind start to expand until it engulfed his consciousness and he slowly and peacefully drifted off into the darkness.

* * *

Izuku put down his pencil and stared down at the answer sheet, he made sure to double check all his answers and correct any mistakes he had made. So far the written exam was going better than he expected, he figured he would have a bit more trouble given how distracted he had been the past few days and even now. As it was, he was fairly confident he would pass. He stood up from his desk and walked to the front of the room, handing his paper to Aizawa. Aizawa took the paper and placed it face down on the desk along with the other already completed exams. Izuku gave Aizawa a small awkward and somewhat hopeful grin and Aizawa gave him a patient nod. Izuku then turned, grabbed his books and left the classroom and made his way down the hall.

It was now the second day of exams, at least two days since Luffy had been put in the infirmary. He was hoping to at least visit him before he went home for the day. As he walked down the hall, he took a deep breath and smiled. This was the best he had felt all week, fully rested and with the stress of taking care of Luffy off his shoulders he finally felt like things were going back to normal. Well, as close to normal as things were in his life. Ever since he had enrolled at the U.A, things had been much crazier than they had back when he was a middle schooler. He was so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized the figure that had stepped out to meet him until he crashed into him at full speed. He took a step back, a bit startled and then looked up to see who it was he had walked into. He nearly dropped his books.

"A-All Might!" he exclaimed, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you there," All Might just raised an eyebrow but he maintained his characteristic grin.

"I did announce that I was here," he pointed out and Izuku felt his cheeks go red.

"S-Sorry!" He said feeling a bit sheepish. All Might just chuckled.

"So, what has you in a hurry Young Midoriya?" He asked, Izuku straightened himself out, remembering where he was going.

"I want to visit Luffy in the infirmary before I leave," Izuku explained, All Might frowned before shrinking down into his emaciated state. He coughed for a moment, wiping a small amount of blood from his chin.

"Luffy?" he asked, sounding a bit confused. Izuku supposed that he hadn't heard anything about the events that had occurred last Wednesday evening. It hadn't really become well known throughout the school either as most people were focused on exams and no one had gone to the infirmary for treatment. Furthermore, Aizawa and Recovery Girl weren't gossips so he supposed that apart from them, he, Iida, Todoroki and Uraraka were the only people who were aware of Luffy's presence.

"He's a friend of mine, he was severely injured in the incident at Hosu City," Izuku explained, All Might frowned.

"And he's in the infirmary, I haven't seen him there at all," he pointed out and Izuku hesitated, lying to Aizawa and recovery girl was one thing but lying to All Might was an entirely different story. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped, he couldn't do it. There was a trust between the two of them that they had built and if he wasn't entirely honest with him now he was afraid that he might shatter that trust.

"I found him wandering the streets a week ago, just a few days after the incident," he explained as they walked down the hall, "He was seriously hurt and bleeding out, I couldn't just leave him there but he refused to let me call an ambulance so I let him inside without my mom knowing and I tried treating him myself…" He took a deep breath, trying not to let the negative thoughts creep their way back into his mind, "He was with me for several days and he got better for a while but then all of the sudden he got worse and then he was struggling to breathe…" All Might frowned as he listened to the story, "I kept telling him we had to take him to the doctor but he kept saying no, I don't know why, he just kept saying it was a bad idea."

"And you can't force someone to receive treatment against their will, is that why you didn't take him anyway?" All Might asked, Izuku nodded. At least All Might understood his reasoning and didn't seem to think he was being stupid at the time. They rounded a corner.

"Finally it got to a point… Todoroki and the others showed up and we came to the conclusion that he was dying so we had Iida run him to the infirmary with his quirk so that we could get him medical treatment without technically going against his wishes," Izuku said and All Might nodded. What Izuku had said was technically a crime, he had just admitted to an act of vigilantism but he hoped All Might would be lenient.

"You made the right call given the circumstance," All Might reassured him, "Not always can we operate within the rules when lives are at stake, I advise that you do your best to adhere to them but if a time comes where you must be flexible it is my opinion that you do so in order to protect as many as we can," he said after a moment, "Much like the Stain case, you won't receive credit or recognition for your valiant deeds and it would be best to keep this to yourself." Izuku nodded, glad that he hadn't disappointed All Might with his stupidity. They continued to walk down the hall in silence and they quietly entered the infirmary.

Izuku put his bag down and approached the bed where Luffy lay, still unconscious. That was no surprise, Recovery Girl had told him that he had briefly woken up during his first exam but he had shortly passed out again and had not stirred since. What was surprising was that the breathing mask was gone and he seemed to be able to breathe on his own. He was still hooked up to an I.V and Izuku assumed that that's how he was getting his medication. It was amazing how much better he looked in just the course of a couple days. His face and skin, while still pale, looked to be a much healthier color and he no longer seemed to be sweating so much. The bandage around his head had been removed as the cut had been sewn shut by recovery girl several days ago and was now healing normally. Izuku glanced down at the bandaged wrist, his hand seemed much less red and swollen now and he seemed to be sleeping much more peacefully as though he weren't in nearly as much pain.

"What happened to him?" All Might asked, startling Izuku who had nearly forgotten he was there.

"I don't know exactly, I think he might have lied about it," Izuku said and All Might gave him a confused look.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I think he might be a pathological liar, I haven't known him for very long but he is always telling impossible stories and I think it might be due to some sort of mental issues he has. He's not all there but he's a nice guy," Izuku explained and All Might nodded.

"I see, what exactly did he tell you?"

"Well I don't think all of it was a lie," Izuku said, "He says he was attacked by a Nomu, which I believe, he has the bite marks to prove it," he pointed at the injured wrist, All Might's eyes widened slightly but he said nothing, "But he claims that he fought it and managed to defeat it, which I'm not so sure about. They were strong enough to fight off pro heroes, including you, I don't think he could have handled it on his own, especially not after receiving the injuries he did." All Might smiled in amusement.

"He must be one heck of a story teller, huh?" he asked and Izuku nodded. It was true, Luffy told all these bizarre stories without hesitating for a moment, almost as though he were convinced of their truth which, as far as Izuku was aware, he very well might be. They stood by his side for several moments before Izuku sighed and turned to leave. "He's lucky to have a friend like you," All Might said putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Izuku smiled and they began making their way to the door when they were stopped by a small groan. They paused and turned back to see that Luffy was shifting in his sleep. It was the most Izu had seen him do in a while. They watched as after a few moments of stirring, Luffy came to a stop and slowly opened his round brown eyes. He blinked several times, seeming a bit dazed and confused.

"Luffy…?" Izuku said in surprise. At the sound of his name, Luffy's eyes focused somewhat and he turned his attention towards the two of them. There was a small pause as Luffy slowly began to process as his mind finally booted up after being asleep for nearly four straight days. Then Luffy grinned, it was still bright and as warm as any grin he had given him before.

"Izu?" he said, his voice was a bit raspy. He slowly sat up, looking a bit tired, but nowhere near as bad as he had been when he had left Izuku's home. Without thinking twice, Izuku ran forward and embraced Luffy in a hug. He felt the boy tense sightly under his embrace, clearly not having been expecting that but after a moment he relaxed and he slowly reached up and hugged him gently back. As he hugged him, Izuku felt his eyes water and fill with tears. He sniffled slightly and felt them begin streaming down his cheeks. He finally pulled away and was able to see Luffy's confused face.

"I thought you were going to die!" he exclaimed, unable to stop his tears. Luffy stared at him for a minute, he seemed a bit alarmed and unsure how to respond to this. Then after a moment he burst into laughter.

"You're a funny guy, Izu!" he said cheerfully, "I told you I wouldn't let a little scratch like that kill me!" Seeing him this cheerful and full of life again was almost too much to handle after seeing him on the brink of death like that. His bright smile and cocky words indicated just how much he had improved in the past few days. Izuku only cried harder and hugged him once again. Luffy continued to laugh as Izuku sobbed unabashedly into his shoulder, finally feeling all the stress and worry leaving his body in waves of pure relief.

"Midoriya, please release the patient he is still in a delicate state," a voice scolded. Izuku released his grip on Luffy as though he were made of fire and had burned him.

"I'm sorry ma'am!" He bowed in apology, still sniffling and holding back small sobs. Luffy giggled at the reprimand before he himself was scolded as well.

"And you, I fail to see what's so funny," Luffy paused and turned to look at her, his silly grin still wide on his face, "You nearly did die so I wouldn't be acting so cocky if I were you."

"But I didn't!" Luffy pointed out, "See! Look, my arm's all better!" he waved around his bandaged arm in the air not taking any care to ensure he wasn't causing any further damage.

"That's because you are heavily dosed with morphine," she explained, "Your arm is just as injured as it was earlier, you just can't feel it so I'd advise you to not so carelessly injure it further," Luffy paused and then pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Stupid doctors…" he mumbled under his breath, clearly not appreciating being told what to do. "I feel good, really good… like warm..." he said as if suddenly realizing it. "Woah… hey… this is like the candy medicine Chopper gives me…" he said and fell back against the bed, his eyes glazing over again, "feels like a marshmallow…." he giggled again. Izuku didn't miss that last part.

"Uh… candy medicine?" he asked, Luffy had talked about this Chopper character at length, describing him as a reindeer doctor who always made him feel better. He had always figured that he was one of the made up stories but now he was wondering if there was a kernel of truth to that one. The reindeer part was probably in reference to some quirk but the candy medicine had him a bit worried, especially if it had the same effect on him the morphine did.

"Yeah… when I feel bad, he gives me the candy and I turn into jelly… jelly… jelloo…." he smiled and closed his eyes again, "...makes me sleepy…" he took a deep breath as he enjoyed the warm bubbly feeling the drug gave him, "...tastes good too, he makes it sweet...sometimes I try to eat more but he says that's dangerous so he hides it…he's a nice doctor..." Izuku frowned he glanced at All Might who had a similarly disturbed expression. Izuku knew Luffy wasn't a bad kid but it was a bit upsetting to hear that he had what sounded like a history of drug use. It seemed he wasn't even fully aware what it was he was talking about, there was a possibility that with his lack of grasp on the world people had dragged him into it without his awareness of it. Recovery Girl seemed to know what they were thinking.

"I've tested his blood for type, white blood cell count and toxins," she said, "his blood work is quite interesting, first of all his blood type doesn't have any of the markers of any recorded type, I'm assuming this is due to being made of rubber on a cellular level."

"Type F…" Luffy muttered, still smiling. Izuku wasn't sure if that was what doctors had officially labeled it or if he had come up with it on his own. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter considering Luffy most likely didn't visit a doctor all that often, especially considering that he seemed to have a dislike of hospitals and doctor's offices. "Pretty rare… Chopper always has to keep some with us in case I get hurt…"

"Luckily he accepts type O negative blood. He does indeed have a lot of unidentifiable drugs and chemicals in his system. There is evidence of opioids, stimulants and even strange benign chemicals that do not seem to interact with his body in any way. Whether that's due to immunity or lack of toxicity I don't know but I'd say he has a long history of drug usage," She said, "I even had to give him a higher dose of morphine than I normally would as he seems to have built up a tolerance." That was not a good sign. Izuku looked down at his friend who seemed a bit confused by the conversation.

"...drugs…? I don't take… I only take what Chopper gives me…." Luffy said, his brow furrowed slightly, "well… there was that time with Iva-chan… and Magellan… bad time…" He winced slightly at whatever it was he was remembering. Luffy slowly sat up again, a smile forming on his face as he pushed the bad thoughts out of his head. "Did I tell you about the time I went to hell!" he said cheerfully, abruptly changing the subject. Izuku's eyes widened and he heard All Might choke and begin coughing.

"What!?" they exclaimed. That had most definitely not been the sentence they had expected to hear. Izuku had heard Luffy make up some crazy tales before but he had never claimed something as outlandish as that before. Luffy just laughed. Then apparently thinking better of it he shrugged.

"Nevermind, I don't want to talk about that, it was crazy though…" He sighed, lifting up his bandaged arm again and experimentally wiggled his fingers. "Sorta hard to move… feels weird…"

"That's due to nerve and ligament damage, I had to reconstruct your arm and remove some of the tissues, you will eventually regain full control with physical therapy but for now it will feel limited," the nurse explained.

"Oh. So it's a mystery," he said, clearly not listening to a word she had said. Izuku couldn't help but laugh at the frustrated expression on her face and he heard All Might chuckle behind them. Luffy ignored them and began moving his hand up and down in a wave like motion and making weird whooping noises, "It's a fish…" he muttered laughing a bit as he did so. His friend was higher on the morphine than he had figured.

"Maybe I should lessen the dosage a bit," Recovery Girl said, moving over to the I.V and adjusting it accordingly.

"Whoop...whoop…" Luffy made funny faces as he moved his arm up and down.

"Hey Luffy," Izuku asked, finally drawing the boy's attention, "Why do you take medicine from Chopper?" He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would use drugs but then again… He thought back to when they first met in that alley, he hoped that the money he had given him then hadn't gone to buying more substances that could make him sick.

"Oh, well, he's my doctor, I do what he says," then he laughed, "If I don't do what he says he gets really mad, so I try to keep him happy, he's a nice guy so I don't want him to be upset, especially cause I was an idiot who always gets myself hurt and stuff."

"I see…" Izuku said but he had no idea what to make of Luffy's statement regarding Chopper.

"You hurt yourself often?" All Might asked, Izuku wasn't surprised by that statement as given their first encounter Luffy had a bullet hole in his chest.

"Oh yeah, I get into fights sometimes, so I get stabbed a lot," he said with a smile, "or shot at, or beaten, or drowned, or burned, or poisoned, or buried alive, or cut, or-" he frowned, "well, I'm rubber so I can't be electrocuted so I haven't been that before… hey wanna try it!?" he asked a little too enthusiastically, he paused for moment before deflating somewhat "nah... Eneru already tried, it didn't work..." All Might and Izuku just stared at him. He wondered how much of that was true, he had seen him shot already but all the other things couldn't possibly be real events that had occurred. Luffy would be dead by now if that were the case. However all of Luffy's lies were somewhat based in reality and so it wasn't a total fabrication. He glanced at All Might who seemed to be wondering the exact same thing.

"And that's why you need the medicine?" Izuku asked, had a life of constant abuse and beatings made Luffy turn to drugs?

"Eh… I suppose so," he shrugged, "You seem to really want to know all about my medicine, next time I see Chopper I could ask him to make it for you if you want," Luffy offered.

"Uh… no thanks…" Izuku said awkwardly. Maybe he had gotten it backwards, maybe it was years of drug use that made his mind so detached from reality.

"Hey Izu," Luffy said, suddenly changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah?"

"You want to be a hero right?" Luffy asked, and Izuku blinked a bit startled by this sudden line of questioning.

"Yeah, I do," he said, wondering where Luffy was going with this.

"Do you have a theme song then?" he asked grinning widely. Izuku opened then closed his mouth, not sure how to respond to that. A theme song? Why on earth would he have a theme song? Who would write it, and furthermore who would sing it? Was the idea that he should bring a stereo everywhere he went and when he needed to go into battle he would just pop the track in and blast it as they fought?

"N-no, I don't," he answered, he heard All Might laughing next to him.

"Oh really? I thought all heroes had theme songs?" Luffy frowned, before lighting up again, "There's a hero where I'm from named Sogeking and he's got the best theme song!" Luffy threw back his head and began to sing loudly and a bit off key:

"Oh the wind carries my name…

From sniper island far away,

When I take aim it's straight and true

Lu lu la la lu…"

"I forget how the words go after that, but you get the idea," Luffy said, "I know! I can ask him to write a theme song for you! I just have to call him from the island of snipers, which is located in your heart! Oh! But how did Usopp do that?" Luffy pouted as he seemed to be limited by reality and unable to call upon a make believe hero from a cheesy island that was 'inside your heart'. Izuku and All Might were laughing now. Recovery Girl just sighed as she began checking up on Luffy's blood pressure and general well being.

* * *

**So Luffy's made a full recovery and should be completely back to normal in future chapters. I hope this was a somewhat satisfying conclusion to all that. Also, if any details in these two chapters contradict anything in recent BNHA or OP somehow, I'm sorry, I've been kind of busy lately and haven't been keeping up to date on either. These were written last May with the rest of the story so... I don't know. I've been meaning to catch up again so hopefully I can do that over summer and maybe I'll regain my drive to write this story again. **

**Anyways, thanks again for reading all this, I really appreciate it. I hope to update soon-ish. **

**Until then, I hope you all are safe during this whole coronavirus pandemic and my heart goes out to everyone who may be affected and/or still has to work during all this. I wish you all well and I hope you stay safe. **


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